The Lost Boy IV - The Hidden World
by Stenna15
Summary: Three years after becoming the clan's new chief, Hiccup has turned Berk into a haven for vikings and dragons. But when an old enemy comes back around and threaten the dearest things to Hiccup, he has to fight beyond his limits to protect everything he had built. This is a Hijack/ Frostcup AU. boy x boy. Don't like, don't read. English is not my main langage.
1. Raid in the dark

Hey guys !

I'm back with the last opus of _The Lost Boy_. This one will be based on the third movie with a few surprises in the plot. I'm not telling you yet, no spoilers ! ;)

Just a little warning : the chapters will be shorter but there will be more of them.

Disclaimers : I don't own any of both movies nor _How to train your dragon_ books nor _Guardians of childhood_, respective credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

This is a Hijack/ Frostcup story. Don't like, don't read. Thank you.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapte****r**** 1**

**Raid in the dark**

The night was dark, silent, a thick fog was covering the sea and hiding the little ship sailing on it, slowly, carefully.

On the bridge of this ship, a man was walking with a spear and a lanthern. He was part of the guards in charge of keeping an eye on the cargo, silently walking between the cages, hitting the bars whenever the dragons in it started to complain and whine.

''Quiet !''

He grumbled to himself and resumed his round, but just a few steps away he stopped. He squinted his eyes and lifted his lanthern, trying to get a better look at the silhouette in the mist. It was human, still, completely dark, standing in front of him. Without a word, the silhouette unsheathed a sword… lighting it on fire.

The new light source made the silhouette more visible, but still as dark as before. It was jet black, and the skin was shining like dragon scales.

''What are you ?'' The trapper asked.

''Hush...'' The black silhouette answered, putting a black finger where its mouth was supposed to be but was not visible.

Even its eyes were dark, like holes, and it spoke with a strange echoing voice. The trapper tried to keep his composure, even more when he heard a low growl behind him. He turned around a spotted a dragon, perched on the top of a cage. The dragon was as black as the strange intruder behind him, yet his horns were glowing in blue, piercing the veil of the night and mist.

When the dragon went down to the ground, the trapper panicked and charged at the silhouette with the flaming sword, who warded off and dodged him without problem. No wonder, the sword was lighter and more pratical than the spear.

The fight only lasted for a few seconds before the trapper backed and threw his lanthern to the intruder's feet. It broke and spread fire on the ground, separating the trapper from both intruder and dragon. He sighed, thinking he was safe, but that was before seeing the two walk through fire, as if it was nothing but mist.

He instantly panicked and yelled.

''AAAAH ! You're a demon !''

''Hush, hush, no, I'm not a demon, I'm not a demon.'' The black silhouette assured.

It suddenly lifted is scaly head, pulling back what looked like a folding helmet, removing from the mouth and the nose a piece of black cloth. The face under it was actually human. Perfectly human.

A lithly sunkissed skin dotted with freckles, green eyes sparkling in the fire light, a few auburn strands over the forehead… The face seemed young, the man seemed in his early twenties. To sum it up, he looked quite harmful. He '_looked_' harmful.

''See, just a guy. Just a guy, here to rescue these dragons. So, huh-''

''But you walked through fire !''

''Dragon scales.'' The young man stated while patting his epaulet. It was covered with black scales that matched the dragon beside him. ''Dragons shed a lot.''

''No ! I know a demon when I see one ! No human legs are that skinny !''

He turned back and was about to flee, only to find himself in front of another dragon, covered in flames. The Monstruous Nightmare landed in front of him and roared, another armored intruder on his back. Said armor was red and orange, matching the firing dragon. The rider lifted his helmet too, unveiling another young human face.

''Think that's a good entrance ?'' The young man smirked. ''Get a word on me ?''

When he spread his arms open, showing off, the Monstruous Nightmare did the same with his wings, straightening up a bit… and puting fire on his rider's butt. Said rider felt the heat and panicked, falling from his mount and rolling on the floor trying to put out the flames. It could have been a pretty pitiful view if the trapper was not that scared.

''Oh, I knew it !'' He screamed. ''More demons !''

''That's… really just a nitwit that forgot to fireproof his butt.'' The black scaled 'demon' sighed, pinching his nose bridge.

''Hot, hot, hot, hot !'' The red 'demon' shouted, running around.

When he finally put out the fire, he panicked again as he saw two dragon heads in the fog. He recognized the Zippleback who was surrounded in green gas, the left head making sparkling noises.

''Guys, no ! Not yet !'' He ran again just in time to avoid the explosion.

Two other 'demons' came out of the smoke, the two were dressed in green scales with some touches of red and brownish yellow.

''Behold your worst nightmare !'' Said a male voice, echoing in another mask.

''Behold !'' The second green 'demon' said with a female voice.

''Along with his sister who _insisted_ on coming !'' He sighed.

''That's my intro ?'' She said, unveiling her face too.

These two were also actually humans, and their similar faces proved they also were twins. The trapper felt completely lost and frightened in the middle of this sudden commotion, but he didn't have the leisure to wonder about it as the black dragon growled at him, making him back off until his back was against one of the cages. While the conversation was going on with the 'demons'. The black one walked to the green ones.

''Guys, too soon. You're always coming too soon-''

A shout cut him in the middle of the scold while another silhouette suddenly fell between them. A larger one, and more clumbsy one obviously. The armor was brown with some hints of purpluish beige.

''Sorry, I'm getting handle of my wings.'' Another young man said with a little more high-pitched voice.

He didn't have the time to stand up a baby Gronckle suddenly came out of the pocket he had on the belly.

''Fishlegs, again with the baby ?! This is raid !''

''I couldn't find a sitter...''

Making use of this distraction, the trapper fled at top speed, yelling in distress.

''Demons everywhere ! It's the end of the world !''

He didn't have more time to scream as he was suddenly pushed against the bars, knocked out. Another intruder came out just behind him, blue armor with hints of yellow, the silhouette clearly feminine. She cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms out, before Hiccup walked to her.

''Astrid, I had him right where I wanted him.''

''And now, he's where I wanted him.'' She teased, lifting her helmet to reveal her smirk.

She then patted his shoulder and walked pass him.

''Let's get to work.''

''Okay, we screwed that up, but, at least, nobody else knows we're here.'' Hiccup said.

It was what he thought, though. Obviously, with all the noise they had made, they should have guessed they had woken up the rest of the crew.

As they had started to open the cages and free the dragons in it, reassuring them, weaponed men were gathering in the fog and circling them. The first cage Hiccup opened contained a young Scuttleclaw.

''Easy, girl. It's okay. Hush, we gonna get you out of here.''

The little dragon quickly calmed down seeing he was harmless, the dragon scales and dragon scent on him helped her understanding he was a friend.

When Fishlegs opened what looked like the larger cage in the whole ship, he bounced in joy as he recognized the dragon in it. Tall, rock-class dragon with short snout and long horns that looked like a moose's antler.

''Oh, a Crimson Goregutter !''

The tall dragon got surprised to see this strange scaled-creature in front of him, he wondered what it was, then saw the little baby it was carrying.

Ruffnut found a very small purple dragon. It was so small she even wondered why he didn't have fled through the bars. She laughed at him.

''Ho, Ho ! Look at this weirdo ! That's super dumb !''

She grabbed a bar and pulled it, trying to open the door, not to avail. She tried once, twice, and grunted as it unerved her.

''Why can't I get this cage open ?''

Astrid saw her and walked to her with a smirk on her face. She took the cage's lock and slided it.

''It slides.'' She calmly said while the door was opening by itself.

''Pff, obviously.'' Ruff retorted.

''Attack !'' A voice suddenly yelled.

All of them started as Hiccup was the first one to react.

''Get the rescues out of here !''

''Get them, quick !'' A trapper shouted.

Astrid pulled her axe from her belt and charged the first trapper she spotted, cuting him in his impulse and the orders he was giving. Toothless ran pass her and bumped into several men, Hiccup attacking with his flaming sword from the other side.

Clashes and voices rose in the fog, echoing everywhere on the bridge, while the others were still opening the cages. The twins started to laugh at the trappers who were tripping and slipping.

''No running on the deck !'' Tuff said. ''It's slipery, you could fall.''

''Step aside !'' Snotlout suddenly yelled as he charged too. ''Let me handle the tough guy stuff !''

He attacked three men on his own, actually he was handling himself pretty good, until the moment he spun on himself, making his helmet swirl on his face, blocking out his sight.

They were making so much noise it was difficult to locate themselves. The fog was thick and blinding, the noises were deafening. The trappers may knew their ship, they couldn't see where their opponents were and had to handle both dragons and 'demons'. They were loosing this fight, but they were still giving some troubles to the dragon riders.

As they were fighting, Astrid and Hiccup backed each other.

''I thought it was supposed to be a stealth mission ?'' Astrid asked.

''Yeah… They always start that way-''

''Look out !''

She pushed him aside while a trapper was charging them, but he couldn't reach them as he was suddenly hoisted in the air, then dropped overboard. The Deadly Nadder flew above them, earning gratitude from her rider.

''Thanks, Stormfly !''

Snoutlout let out a war cry, brandishing his mace over his head with determination and bravery. He was running on the top of a cage, ready to take his enemies from above. This was the perfect occasion for epicness, and he was so going to prove his vikingness over his fellow riders. Yet, it was before his cape got stuck in a nut of the cage, leaving him hanging there, his mace leaving him to fall on the ground.

Seeing this, Fishlegs was not sure he should laugh at or complain his friend.

''Move out ! We've got them all !'' Hiccup finally said.

''I'm gonna head-lock every last one of you, I might even leg-lock you !'' Tuffnut teased to the trappers as Barf and Belch grabbed him and his sister to fly away.

Hookfang got his rider, who protested with fury even if he had been in a bad posture.

''Amateurs ! I was just getting started !''

''We're out, guys ! Go, go !'' Astrid shouted, running after Stormfly to grab her tail.

Fishlegs and her mounted their dragons and fled too, starting to gather all the dragons they had freed. There was only Hiccup left, as he had not found his dragon back yet.

He found himself alone in front of all the trappers, and none of them seemed nice.

''Hey guys.'' He fake smiled.

He was starting to worry but could breath as he spotted a black dragon rushing to him, smashing in the men as if they were bowling. Toothless ran to him and let him climb on his back before taking off.

''Haha ! You always have my back, bud !''

* * *

Here we go with the first chapter.

This one was pretty close to the movie, the changes come starting from the next chapter. Hope you still enjoy it.

Love and scales !


	2. Busy, busy Berk

Disclaimers : I don't own any of both movies nor _How to train your dragon_ books nor _Guardians of childhood_, respective credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

This is a Hijack/ Frostcup story. Don't like, don't read. Thank you.

NA : I implied it beforehand but not enough so I just put it here : since he had met Lumiverse, Joke had started to get lessons from Goathi. Now (in this opus I mean) that she had retired he is the new village's healer, but some of them still go for the elder because they are not used yet to the change.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapte****r ****2**

**Busy, busy Berk**

The group was leading the different dragons in the night, puting more and more distance between them and the trapper ship, heading back to the north. Hiccup was pleased to see how much dragons they had saved this time. The sun was rising on a shining morning when the dragon riders finally came back home. Seeing their island after this long flight felt good, especially with the countless winged creatures filling the sky. There was no many dragons it was difficult to count them, even impossible.

''_This is Berk. The first dragon/ viking utopia. A dream destination, for both people. The service here soars, the cuisine's fiery and the local are as colorful as you get.''_

Indeed, the island was colorful due to the huge among of buildings covering the ground and spreading far away from the original limits of the village, also rising in high towers into the sky.

''_Any run-of-the-mill paradise boasts beaches and sunshine, we__l__l not us. We've got something no one else can touch. We have dragons.''_

They came along one of the high towers rising above the village. It looked like the vikings had piled several houses, all the upper stories serving to host dragons. On the roof, at least eight Gronckles were on one another, proving that, despite all the new constructions and extensions of the village, it was really busy.

''_Lots and lots of dragons !''_

The group started to disperse here and there, leading the dragons to settlement or treatment for those who needed it. Hiccup led the Crimson Goregutter at the core of the village.

''_We are the peace's pioneers, and we endeavor to spread it around us, even if it's not to everyone's liking.''_

The core of the village was one of the few places less crowded in the island, but it was difficult to reach it from the sky. So Hiccup had designed a tower with platforms going down once there was weight on them. It was simple : dragons landed on the platforms and just had to quietly wait as it was leading them to the ground.

''_Once, my father told me _'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war'._ I have to admit he was right since maintaining and spreading peace is a constant battle. We already had convinced a few clans to adopt this way of life, such as the Wingmaiden and the Defensor of the Wings – hey, we even convinced the Berserkers ! – but other__s__ still refuse to listen and change.''_

Toothless and the Goregutter landed, followed by the rest of the riders. The villagers gathered around to celebrate the return of their chief, yet they backed up seeing the huge dragon. Hel, he was even bigger than Fiery ! When the moose-like dragon landed, his weight made the earth quake. Hiccup dismounted his best friend and went to meet his people.

''Kin, meet our new berkians.''

''Welcome to paradise, mate !'' A viking said, offering a big fish to a Snapplefang.

''Ow, you're a beauty.'' A viking woman cooed to a Raincutter with beautiful red colors.

Each dragon got welcomed by viking, vikings or dragons. None of them was left alone.

''I guess it means we can't count the Southern Islands clan as allies.'' Elska statted, emerging from the crowd.

She walked to Hiccup and looked intently at the new incomers, fists on her hips. The young chief pinched his lips with nervosity.

''No, we can't. They have captured the dragons on their island and sent them to the Slaughterhouse, we were lucky to catch up with the ship and free these ones.''

With the simple hearing of the word 'Slaughterhouse', the former queen of Haze's face went dark. Three years had elasped since Hiccup had become chief, the dragon riders and him had started a propaganda for peace and had convinced a few clans to accept and befriend the dragons. However, a few months ago, they had heard about this organization. They still were lacking some information about the Slaughterhouse, but they knew these people were capturing and gathering dragons somewhere.

People were talking about a slaughterhouse, a place were the dragons were executed. This organization only wanted to kill the dragons, and they were taking profit of unknowing people whereabout the true nature of dragons in order to sell their services. It was not the first time the dragon riders were fighting people working for the Slaughterhouse, and they knew it was not going to be the last one.

''You're welcome, you're welcome.'' Snotlout bragged. ''I took on like a hundred trappers. A thousand trappers !''

''All with burning undies.'' Ruffnut teased.

She laughed at him while he hid in shame, then Tuffnut went in front of his sister to keep on the tale.

''My thick boar beard almost got on fire !''

He stroked the said bear, but actually it wasn't one. It was his hair, gathered and braided just under his chin to mimick the bear he oh so dreamed off. He didn't have the facial hair to have it though. He only had a light fuzz on the chin, and he was really bruised because he noticed he was almost the only one like this. Hiccup had fuzz all over the face and was actually shaving, Snotlout had a short but still visible mustache, and Tuffnut couldn't dare look at Fishlegs who had such a long and beautiful braided mustache it was competing with Gobber's. Joke was the only one not really getting hairy there, at least it was one less rival for Tuffnut and his dreamed beard.

Seeing her brother stroking his hair, Ruffnut rolled her eyes.

''Huh, just… Just stop.''

Seeing them, Elska softly shook her head, Hiccup couldn't say if she was amused or exasperated, still she didn't say anything and headed to a Shovelhelm who was limping. She kneld beside him and checked his swollen paw. As the village's dragon healer, it was only natural she was one of the first to come as a rescue team was coming back from a raid. Hiccup looked at her working, then scaned around them as he noticed several faces were missing.

He frowned a bit, even more seeing Toothless searching here and there without finding Lumiverse. Though the Light Fury and her rider were not the only ones missing. Eret was not here either.

''Where's Joke ?'' The chief asked his mother-in-law, only for confirmation.

''We got a message from the Bearclaw clan, L League left yesterday night, they should be back by the evening or early night.''

Hiccup nodded in understanding. They had to admit the Hairy Hooligans were receiving a lot of help quieries. Rumors were spreading, and Berk was becoming more and more known, even if the dragon riders were making sure their location was still kept secret from their enemies. Legend was spreading fast and preceded them. Unfortunately, it was also twisted. If a few clans knew the truth about vikign and dragon friendship, other only knew the Master of dragons as a dragon-killer, and they called for him only to get rid of the dragons they were fighting, just like the Southern Islands did.

That was why the original dragon riders team was not enough anymore. Hiccup and his friends had trained other recrues and formed other teams. Hiccup was leading the first one, called T Team for Toothless, and Joke was leading the second one, called L League for Lumiverse. They also had the Team A for Astrid, which the blonde viking had hardly trained herself, but this team was in charge of protecting Berk and was not really part of the propaganda expeditions.

Usually, Elska was part of the L League, along with Eret, Reekfrid and Loathfetor, but since T Team was already on a mission, she had rather stay to take care of the dragons they would get back. And she had been right.

Seeing she was going to have a lot of work, especially without Joke to help her, Hiccup decided to let her alone, but he seemed to be the only one thinking this way. Indeed, Snotlout headed towards her. Head high, he puffed out his chest and showed off.

''So, huh, Joke's mom, you missed quite the performance, back there. I was pretty much perfect, you know ?''

''Oh, I'm sure it was… indescribable.''

She laughed, a bit amused, then focused back on the dragon she was treating.

''And please, call me Elska. It has been three years…''

She mumbled the end of her sentence with a slight annoyment. Indeed, there had been three years since she had joined the Hairy Hooligans' clan and he was still talking to her as if she had just arrived.

Snotlout didn't got her remark as she intended too and actually was pleased with it. He couldn't hold back a smirk and whispered for himself, even if the twins heard him.

''First name basis.''

''Well, I think the real heroe of the day was Toothless.'' Hiccup claimed.

He stroke the head of his dragon as he used to, just before getting gaga over him.

''Isn't that right, bud ? What would we do without you, oh king of dragons, what would we do ?''

Elska, now moving on taking care of a broken horn of a Stormcutter, shooked her head in amusement seeing this. Yet, the joyfulness of their return was interrupted as Astrid scolded them all.

''Well, we could train a lot harder for one, that was pretty sloppy.''

Elska chuckled. Everyone thought she was going to temper the young viking woman, but actually she agreed.

''If I may, basing on the observations I had made of your previous missions, Astrid does have a point. You all tend to rely a bit too much on your dragons instead on one another.''

''See !'' Snotlout added, pushing Astrid to face Elska, but she had already focused back on the treatment.

It still didn't stop the showing-off demeneor, finding himself next to Hiccup. The young viking chief stepped aside before being smashed in the face by a back horn from the red armor.

''That's exactly what I was saying ! Just listen up, guys.'' He snickered before noticing who he was standing next to.

He frowned with his haughly expression and elbowed the young man.

''Yep, your mom-in-law's super impressed with me. I'm like the son she always wanted.''

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He thanked the gods Joke didn't have to hear this, even if he knew his husband would have laughed of it.

Fishlegs was stroking his dragon, praising her for the good work, until the moment the baby Gronckle jumped from his pocket and half-ran half-flew to the Goregutter.

''Fishmeat ! Oh, you found a new friend !''

Both dragons started to play, but if the moved of the light baby were harmless, that was not the case of the heavy Goregutter. Every starting to quake around him as he jumped.

''Watch your heads !'' A viking yelled while the tail alsmot it him and the two vikings with him.

Other jumped to the floor to avoid it, a wagon filled of wood flew in the air, a group of sheeps got scared and ran away, and the disaster continued as the Goregutter smashed into the 'landing tower'. It snapped and fell without any effort, but fell towards the cliffs. It smashed into a houses tower, which fell before smashing and dragging another one with it… At least seven towers fell, chasing away their inhabitants, breaking everything on their path before ending in the sea.

Hiccup clenched his teeth, shoulders and butt seeing all the damages and knowing he couldn't stop it. Yet he stressed even more as a loud voice rose. Gobber pushed the vikings so he could reach Hiccup.

''By Odin's beard ! What good is having the king of dragons if he can't keep the order ?!''

''Huh, bud ? You wanna… do something here ?''

Toothless looked at him with his gummy smile but put on a straight face before turning to the two troublemakers dragons, then roar on them. The baby didn't listen to him and started to run again, while the Goregutter bowed with a guilty face. Hiccup smiled at it but Gobber was not finished yet.

''And where do you suppose we put these ones ?''

''Oh, we'll make room.''

If Hiccup seemed casual about it, Gobber gave him a look. There was already a large among of dragons on the island. Too much. The black-smith was about to tell him but got distracted as he saw something that made him scream. Between two of the new dragons, he spotted the small purple one.

''You brought back a Hobgobbler !'' He panicked so much he didn't notice giving a smack of his wooden hand in the young chief's belly. ''They are bad omens, we are cursed !''

Hiccup laughed, just like the twins – unless they were enjoying this idea ? Elska laughed too before reaching the small dragon, lifting him in her arms. He was heavier than he looked, but it was not enough the stop the former queen.

''Nonsense. That's a dragon like the others. No injuries, a little bit of a shaken otherwise he's healthy.''

She softly smiled at him while stroking his back.

''Now, who's hungry ?''

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

After a long day consisting on taking care of the new incomers, finding them shelter and providing them treatment and food, all the dragon riders gathered to the Meat Hall for a well-earned diner. If the entire village would fit in this huge cave, the dragons were occupying a lot of space, making comings a bit difficult. Several wooden platforms had been builded in the beams so the winged creatures could go there instead of in the middle of the way, yet they liked to keep company to the vikings. A Gronckle was even lying on one of the tables.

In the middle of all the commotion, Hiccup and Gobber were heading to the back of the room, followed by Toothless.

''The point is : you can't keep bringing dragons back here ! You're just asking for troubles !''

Hiccup was only half listening as he was busy dodging the commotion. He clapsed his hand on Gobber's chest to stop him when a young Deadly Nadder rushed in front of them, chased by a viking.

''Give it back ! It's mine !''

Seemed like the dragon had stolen some food. Hiccup laughed and resumed his walk while Gobber was still pissed off.

''Those trappers are getting closer by the day.'' He insisted.

As they came across a large Snuffgruble's tail, too large to be jumped over, Gobber bent and lifted it so they could pass under it.

''We can handle them, we have the Alpha. Ain't that right, bud ? And who could ever match all of our dragons ? Just look at how happy they are.''

A few steps away from them stood a unlikely commotion they barely noticed. A few vikings had gathered around a barrel, looking at Elska and Spitelout arm-wrestling. Snotlout was watching it with sparkling eyes, even more as Elska won the game, making the vikings around laugh.

''She's awesome…'' He whispered in admiration.

She laughed too before leaving, while Spitelout grunted. He was a sore looser, and was not going to admit she had hurt his wrist. He would go see Goathi or Joke to threat that, but there was no way he was telling them how he got this.

Gobber and Hiccup finally reached their destination, where the vikings had cooked the meal and were serving it. The blond-mustache viking was still worrying while Hiccup was perfectly calm.

''Gobber, relax ! We did it, a dragon and viking utopia. We made the dream a reality !''

They reached the tall cauldrons, a red-head viking woman with generous curves filled their plates with a warm orange soup.

''Your dream, maybe. Mine's less crowded and more-'' Gobber started but was cut as he heard a faint cluck coming from the cauldron. He looked at it and started as he spotted the Hobgobbler swiming in it.

''AH ! Sanatory !''

''Gobber, you're not fooling anybody. And I know you love them.''

When the cooking viking woman handed a cup of soup to the black-smith, he eyed it weirdly. Beside them, Toothless propped on his back legs so he could press his weight on the border of the cauldron and growl at the little purple dragon, which fled away from the food. When the two vikings managed to find free places on a table, it was craziness all around them.

Hiccup had the joy to spot there the face he had missed for the whole day. Indeed, Joke was there, sitting next to Astrid and talking to her. It looked like L League was back earlier than expected, the young chief was certainly not going to complain about it.

Without warning, he walked to his husband, put his hands on his shoulders and kissed his cheek from behind, making him start in surprise. Said chief chuckled and kept on smiling.

''Hey babe.''

''Hey ! Astrid was telling me how it went at the Southern Islands.''

Hiccup let out a loud sigh and sat next to him with his cup of soup.

''I hope it turned out better with the Bearclaw.''

Joke smiled and made a sign with his hand, mimicking to let it drop.

''Oh, you know, the usual. 'Dragons, run !', 'Demon ooh-aah !'. I even got the white-haired-warlock thingy.''

''No allies there neither, then.''

Joke confirmed it with a negative nodd and swallowed a piece of bread he had dipped into his soup.

''We calmed down the situation a bit but we still had to evacuate some of the dragons to reassure the villagers.''

Hiccup looked at his husband's plate and wondered seeing how much it was filled. Besides the bowl of soup that would have suffice him usually, the slim young man had also taken a chicken leg, a portion of vegetables and a few potatoes. If Hiccup wasn't seeing his husband eating in it, he could have swear this plate belonged to Fishlegs.

''Hungry, huh ?'' He half-joked.

''I'm star-ving ! I hardly have done that exhaustive missions. I think I'll go to sleep early, today.''

Hiccup wanted to say something back, but it was not counting on Gobber's intrusion. Without consideration for conversation he could interrupt or couple he could separate, he pushed the two young men and sat between them, getting back on the previous topic he had with the chief.

''You're supposed to be the generation that leads us into the future !''

He was about to make a long speech about honor and greatness but got interrupted too as a chicken leg flew above the table. Looking from where it came from, Gobber saw Tuffnut fighting with Belch over his plate. Snotlout dodged the leg and guffawed.

''Ha, ha ! Food fight !''

A merciless fight started between them, making even more food fly over the table. Astrid, just next to Tuffnut, rolled her eyes and kept on eating quietly, unlike Ruffnut who was laying on the table, contemplating her reflexion in her metal pint.

''Huh… Gorgeous.'' She praised herself.

Yet this contemplation stopped as a fruit got stuck on one of her helmet's horns.

''Watch the hair !'' She groaned while joining the war.

At the other side of the table, away from the commotion, Fishlegs was feeding the little Fishmeat, being completely gaga over the baby. Gobber grunted again as he got a splash of soup in the face. On his right, Hiccup, and on his lef,t Joke, both young men were quietly eating without making any trouble. Surprisingly, Joke was actually eating his very full plate ! How come that skinny boy could eat that much ? He knew raids could get the riders hungry, but still.

''Thor helps us.'' The black-smith sighed.

He turned to Hiccup and grabbed him under his arm, pulling his face directly in his fur vest, choking him without noticing.

''Time to stop worrying for troubles out there and start sorting out the ones right here.''

''Okay…'' Hiccup's muffled voice protested, trying to free himself. ''I-I'll think about it.''

The black-smith also grabbed Joke on the other side, stopping his hungry meal and also making him unable to get out of his grib. Even if the boy was not exactly concerned by what he was about to say, he still had to know about it.

Not at all bothered by the two youth struggling under his arms, the black-smith took a deep breath under Astrid's puzzled gaze and launched the bomb as if it was not one.

''Now it's time to really take your responsabilities and care for the future of the clan. Hiccup, you need heirs.''

The fight beside them instantly stopped. Snotlout, the twins, Fishlegs and Astrid all froze, round eyes and mouth agape for some of them, then Tuffnut frowned.

''Ugh, the H-word.''

''Gross…'' Ruffnut added, then smirked. ''Unless they're mine.''

She then threw her apple to her brother's face, starting the fight all over again. Gobber rolled his eyes and looked back to Hiccup and Joke.

''Start rulling like a proper royal couple. You already passed the wedding thingy, greaaat, unfortunately we all know Joke doesn't have what it's needed to build a family.''

He wasn't aiming to be mean, instead he snickered about it, but Astrid knew how much of a sensitive topic it was for both boys. Joke started and managed to get rid of Gobber's arm, unlike Hiccup who was still struggling to breath as his face was buried in the fur.

The white-haired young man didn't say a word and quickly left the table. Hiccup's muffled voice tried to call the black-smith, but he didn't hear it as he got surprised by Joke's reaction, allowing the chief to free himself and breath anew. As he was catching his breath back and moved his jaw to make sure it was still working, the black-smith left too, going after Joke, along with Astrid.

Tuffnut walked to Hiccup with a teasing smile on his face. Hiccup turned to him and suddenly noticed how his neighbors were suddenly gone. He wondered what happened but couldn't get an answer as his fake-beard friend talked to him.

''Hehe, cheating on your husband to give heirs to the throne… Ouch, you're in deep troubles, my friend. Look, if you need a beard to cry on...''

He grabbed the young chief and pulled his face into his hair.

''Lean on my shoulder and you can cry on my full thick beard.''

Barely breathing in this fish-smelling hair, Hiccup let out a nervous chuckle while his friend was stroking his head like someone would do to a crying child.

''Ha ha ha… Thank you, Tuffnut… Thank you… so much…''

Behind them came Eret, who froze seeing this weird scenery which made him a bit uneasy. He cleared his throat to make his presence noticed. Hiccup jolted and pushed back his friend, whiping his face and turning to the new incomer.

''Eret, son of Eret !''

He was holding back from thanking him for his arrival which saved him from Tuffnut.

''What's the report ?''

''One trapper barge spotted in the strait.'' Eret stated.

''So we go after them.''

Hiccup was ready to go but met Gobber's eyes, who had just come back.

''What ?'' The young viking asked.

''One day, you're gonna pick a fight you can't win.''


	3. Slaughterhouse

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Slaughterhouse**

Far away from Berk, on a gloomy island surrounded by war ships, covered in ruins and hiding in its depth a whole base a barge had just docked, depositing a bunch of men who were particularily troubled.

Those posted near the entrance of the base readied to 'welcome' the intruders, before recognizing them as their own. Those who entered were only three, and they were arguing to know who was going to talk. None of them wanted to be the one to report. When they entered in the basis, in the shape of a large arena where other trappers were moving cages full of captive dragons, they felt even less brave. At the back of the arena stood a more private room, separated by a few steps. There were a group of people gathered around a map, spread on a wooden table. It was their leader with his three sidekicks.

The men from the last convoy that had been attacked by the dragon riders were coming to report to their superiors, but their loss was never some news that man was taking easily.

''Sir ?'' The braver of the three hesitated.

''What is the report ?'' The man dressed in black asked.

He was not pretty bulky, but rather tall. Some could call him slender, but he still was dreadful in battle. When he was not wearing his armor, he was always dressed in black. He used to move slowly, almost solemnly, and was always talking softly and calmly, which was more threatening than anything. Noone knew when he was angry, noone knew if he was going to forgive them or punish them.

Around him were standing his three mates. Two men and a woman, all of them dreadful in combat, as we could expect it from the ones that called themselves war-lords.

They were three, these war-lords. Ragnar was an infamous viking with facial hair redder than anyone they had ever seen, always dressed in blue and golden leather armor, showing off the armorial bearing of his viking clan. Chaghatai Khan, the other man, was almost as tall but a bit less muscular, dressed in red and bronze armor. The design of his armor and his face showed his asian origins. Then there was Ack, a bulky and grumpy woman. She was wearing brown and white, silver-like armor and white fur. She came from the northern territories but noone knew from where exactly. No one really knew anything about her, actually.

But wrost of all was not the men, it was the dragons. Since they had been captured two years prior and trained his way, the leader was always keeping two out of the six close to him, like an escort. They were not really tall, smaller than Night Furies, but they had large wings and a long thin tail with a rounded shape at the end, hiding a venomous sting. They had also retractacle tusks, sharp horns on the back that almost looked like an armor, and some excrescence on their front legs, which reminded more of a scorpio, as sharp as Deadly Nadder's spikes. The trappers knew theses dragons, they were Deathgrippers. They were mostly known thanks to their venom, it was driving their victims crazy, it was also said that this venom could be used to mentally control said victims.

Silence from the new incomers unerved the very-little-patient Ack, but she dared not to talk instead of the one they all called 'Sir' and General.

''Well, talk.'' He asked with calm.

Even if he was listening, he was not looking at them, still turning his back on them, bent over the map. The trappers were shaking, sweating, not daring to imagine how he was going to react to their failure.

However, their silent seemed talkative enough. Without moving nor straightening, still turning his back on them, he snapped his fingers and pointed the ground next to him, silently ordering them to come closer. The two behind pushed the first trapper, as scared as them, forcing him to go while they kept a safety distance. When he foudn himself next to still-not-looking-at-him general, he swallowed hard but couldn't find his words.

''How many loss ?'' The general inquired.

''U-Up to f-fifteen dragons, Sir…''

''Any damages on the ship ?''

''N-No Sir…''

''Where were you when they attacked ?''

''E-East strait, Sir.''

''Have you seen which way they left to ?''

''Y-Yes, Sir. To the north, Sir.''

The way he was asking the questions while making marks on the map was cold and methodical. The trapper remained beside him, still hesitant, playing nervously with his fingers while wondering what his punishment was going to be. The general was not known to be merciful, et he used to not care about the messenger. Worried, the trapper looked at the general's hand, which was still moving on the map. He had marked the east-strait with a dark cross and was tracing a line towards the north, up to an island which was already connected to other attacks with lines. The general sighed and pinched his nose bridge.

''Berk. Again.''

''What do we do, Kosmozis ?'' Ragnar asked with hesitation.

''We have to attack them !'' Ack claimed while punching the table. ''These dragon riders are making fun of us for too long !''

''Their chief is only a boy.'' Khan added. ''He is stupid enough to gather all the dragons in the same place ! Why not attack ?''

The three war-lords instantly quieted with just a glare from their leader. He still seemed calm, but his eyes were so dark they were screaming troubles.

''Because they are protected by a Night Fury. Their… Alpha.''

He spat on the word, still remembering his defeat against the black creature. He had mulled over this for a moment, thinking about a way for revenge. Yet, after several months of thinking and planing, he had given up on the idea. Not that he didn't wished to see the dragon's head on a pike for humiliating him and defeating his Alpha Sentinel, but there was actually no real benefit : he had already had what he wanted. Berk had never been a real target, just a playground that ended up badly. Plus, he had other things to do, more important things.

He thought about the matter for a few seconds, taping his fingers on the table he was leaning on. He could feel his mates lose their patience, but he couldn't care less. They were under his orders, after all, they had to wait for his decision. However, his reflexion stopped as he noticed the messenger was still next to him. If he was done, he should have dismissed by now. Slightly frowning, he looked at him.

''Anything else ?''

''Yes, Sir, there… There are rumors. We hear more and more about the dragon riders coming to other clans, and…''

''And ?'' The general insisted, without any trace of losing patience.

The trapper swallowed hard, his whole body stiffened as if he was bracing himself for being killed on spot.

''People talk about a white-haired warlock.''

If nothing seemed able to reach the general beforehand, these last words did. He froze in his movements, hatred written in his greyish eyes.

''A white-haired warlock ?'' He repeated to make sure he had heard correctly.

His voice was low and eerie. The only answer he got back was a shaking nod, then the general smashed the table, it was so loud it made everyone jump around him. It was not usual to see him get angry openly, even less to see him become violent because of it. He gritted his teeth and started to mumble for himself.

''Destroy my bases and ships, I can tolerate it. Steel the dragons, I can tolerate it. But _this_...''

He punched the table again, more lightly this time, and straightened while grabbing back his dagger.

''What does it mean ?'' Khan hesitated.

Without a word, without an explanation, Kosmozis readied his weapons, putting them back to his belt. He snapped his fingers to get the attention of the Deathgrippers, then headed to the exit. The three war-lords eyed each other before running after him.

''General ! What do we do ?''

''Keep on the hunt. Capture as many dragons as you can and deliver them as agreed.''

''Huh, okay… But you ?'' Ragnar insisted.

''I have a something personal to deal with, something I thought was done a long time ago.''

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

_On the cliff over the village, in the fading light of twilight over Berk, stood Stoik, fierce and strong, holding his young son with one arm. The boy back then was just a toddler. Eyes gazing on the landscape, the chief was speaking._

''_Hiccup. This is Berk, son. It's our home. It was the home of your grand-parents and their grand-parents before them. It's my job as chief to protect us, Hiccup. And, one day, when you're all grown up, that job will be passed on to you.__''_

''_Okay.__'' __The innocent toddler replied._

''_That's very important, son.__''_

_Stoick rose a finger and pointed to the sea._

''_Because out there, beyond the sunset, lies the home of the dragons.__''_

''_Wow !__''_

''_Aye. Legends tell that ships sail too close to it only to drop off the dge of the world. Never to be seen again. But those sailors who turned back told tells of a great waterfall and dragons guarding the entrance to a hidden world.__''_

_So much stories to make this little boy dream about, the young Hiccup let out another breath of wonder, his eyes sparkling._

''_Not just a nest, Hiccup, but a land from which all dragons come.__''_

''_Even Night Furies ?__''_

''_E__specially Night Furies.__'' __Stoick chuckled._

''_Huh…__ Those are scary...__''_

''_Don't you worry, one day I'll find the hidden world and seal it up so the people and dragons will fight no more.__''_

Hiccup was watching the landscape from the very same cliff with a thoughtful mind, lost in memories and reflexion. He was only six at that time, and that he was twenty-three, and that he had became the chief, he couldn't help but notice how much things had changed. Not just the landscape, but also mentalities.

He watched the countless dragons flying and swirling in the sky, above the extended village, until he was joined by other winged reptiles. A knock on his leg surprised him and brought him back to reality. When he looked downward, he saw three little dragons circling him, three little dragons that made him smile. They were a bit taller than sheep, had the same silhouette but different colors.

Vikings called them the Night Lights. Why such a weird name ? Simply because they were the offspring of Night and Light Furies. Yes, these hatchlings were the babies of Toothless and Lumiverse.

The three were pretty much different from one another, each of them had specific mixture of black and white. There was two males and a female. One male was almost completely white, the bottom of his paws greyish, the end of his tail fin black, along with his horns and the end of his biggest ears. The eyes were a deep green, darker than Toothless.

The second male was mostly black, with hints of white on his paws – going up to his knees and elbows – the horns, the end of the tail fins, the end of his smaller ears and his belly. His eyes were exactly the same as his father.

The female looked more like the second one, but the white on her paws were only going up to her ankles, her horns were black, the end of her bigger ears was white along with her nose, and the white on her belly was going up to her jaw. Her eyes were surprisingly as different from Toothless as from Lumiverse. It was like a mixture of the green and mauve since she had blue eyes.

The three hatchlings had been named Daylight, Midnight and Duskstorm. These name were not the usual viking-like names but Hiccup was pleased with them. He had only named Duskstorm and let Joke found the other names since he thought his husband's ideas were always poetic.

When Lumiverse had led these eggs, both boys had rejoyed, saying jokingly they were going to be dads, and celebrated the fact that Furies were no more an extinct specie. Just like all the young hatchlings, these three Night Lights were troublemakers, always playing and shoving everything on their path, but they were always forgotten since they were so cute.

And their favorite toy was Hiccup's peg leg. The young chief easily understood that their round eyes and cooing were actually reclamation for his leg. He rolled his eyes but couldn't refuse anything to these cuties, especially when Toothless was joining them with his sweet cat-like eyes.

''You do know it's not a chew toy, don't you, guys ?'' Hiccup said while untying his peg leg, making the hatchlings bouncing in delight, shaking their backs.

Toothless was just as excited as them.

''Is this what you want ? Oh, do you want this leg ? Do you want my leg ? Go get it !''

Hopping in his only leg left, Hiccup threw the prosthesis over the edge of the cliff. The overexcited dragons immediatly flew after it. Even Toothless went for it, making his kids laugh in their peculiar dragon way. Sometimes, Hiccup was wondering if his dragon was just an overgrown kid.

Once the Furies left, Hiccup sat up, he wasn't really good at keeping his balance with only one foot, but he had to admit it was good to put it off sometimes. Even with the improvements he had done on it, it happened to still hurt sometimes, especially after a long day of chiefing around the village. On several times he had to thank Joke for massaging the area below his knee, having a healer as husband can be of use sometimes.

Smiling to himself at the memory, he pulled out his old map. He layed it on the ground, using rocks to block it from the strong wind. It didn't had really changed in three years, only two new pages had been added, wearing Joke's handwriting.

Becoming chief had required some sacrifices for Hiccup, including giving up exploration. He barely had the time to look at the map as his peg leg fell on it, covered in slubber. Daylight and Duskstorm landed next to him, starting to wrestle with high-pitched noises, while Midnight hovered above them, laughing at them. The viking laughed, then looked upward to find Toothless, quietly planing with his gummy smile.

''Getting pretty good in gliding on your own, bud.'' He remarked.

And it was no wonder. Hiccup had finally found _the_ solution for Toothless to fly again on his own. His new fake fin made him completely independant as it consisted in an peg attached to his valid fin, transmitting the movement of the valid one on the fake one, allowing Toothless to move both simutaneously.

Toothless had been delighted trying on this new prosthetis. Elska had provided ice-crystal to make it light and strong, and Hiccup had even painted it in black so it was giving the illusion the dragon had two healthy fins. The dragon kept on gliding over him before landing on his right, where he let out his tongue and pushed the slubbery peg leg on the map, making a soft noise with pleading eyes.

Unlike the Night Lights who tend to lose itnerest in it as they had soil it, Toothless was never getting bored on this game.

Hiccup ignored him with a smile to focus on his map, he traced an imaginary line with his finger, aiming to west, where he had never really explored the archipelago. That was when another dragon came to them, gliding with elegancy. Lumiverse circled them and landed gracefully behind them.

''Oh ! So this is where you come to hide from from Gobber.'' Her rider teased.

''I huh… I have no idea what you're talking about.'' Hiccup rejoined.

When Joke dismounted Lumiverse, the dragon stretch her wings and shook her back before walking to her offspring, who stayed still with her simple presence. Joke barely had the time to take a step towards his husband as Toothless rushed to him, throwing him the sluberry peg leg. Joke didn't wait to throw it in the air, launching the Fury family after it.

Only Daylight and Midnight remained on the cliff, playing in the grass.

''Well, he's right, you know.''

''What ?'' Hiccup panicked. ''Wha- What do you mean ?''

Joke walked to the edge of the cliff and played tightrope-walker there. Hiccup could have worried for him if he didn't know Lumiverse would catch him if he had to fall. Joke had a too good balance for that, anyway.

And what was really worrying the young chief was not his lover falling from the cliff, but what he was saying. He panicked and frowned, feeling his heart going up in his throat.

''Joke, you know how much I care for you, out of the question I'd do that ! Giving heirs to Berk's throne is the least of my concern if it has to hurt you-''

''Haha, cool down, I'm not talking about that.''

Hiccup sighed in relief, even more seeing his husband's smile. Plus, he could see in his eyes Joke was grateful for him thinking like this. The white-haired young man sat next to him, looking at the landscape thoughtfully, his smile fading.

''I mean he's right about all of… this.'' He said gesturing to the village.

Hiccup sighed.

''It does seem like the whole world knows about us, now.''

''Yep, and the more dragons we bring back here, the bigger of a target we become.''

He started as Hiccup's peg leg fell on his lap, and threw it right away. Toothless and Duskstorm went pass them to fetch it, making even more air messing with their hair. Lumiverse flew to get back to the two other hatchlings, quietly playing with them.

''I wish there was some way to make them leave us alone.'' Joke added.

''There might be.''

Joke turned to him, giving him a quizzical look, simply waiting to hear his idea out. Hiccup straightened a bit and looked at the horizon, towards west.

''Dad used to talk about an old mariners myth, of a secret land at the edge of the world where dragons live totally out of reach-''

''Ha ! Well, sailors are known for told tales.''

''True.'' Hiccup admitted.

But he had not said his last word. He put his hand on Joke's to get his attention back.

''But what if it's real ? It could be the answer to all of our problems. ''

''How ? Are you planning on moving the dragons there ?''

''Hu-huh, all of us.''

''Are you serious ?''

Joke pulled out his hand, which made the viking's smile drop. He had thought his forever-long friend, his best friend, his lover, his husband, would have understand and supported him, yet Joke seemed to be touched by it… in the wrong way.

''We live here for seven generations, could you really abandon that ? The home your father left you to protect ?''

Hiccup suddenly realised why Joke was reacting like this. Not only because that idea sounded crazy, but also because it was really touching him. Joke may had grown up on Berk, just like him, but his heritage from Haze was adding weight to what Hiccup was saying.

Joke had never known the place he was born, where his clan had lived, where he should have grown up. Sure, Elska had told him a lot of stories about it, but he had never seen the place with his very eyes. So knowing Hiccup was ready to abandon his home…

''Huh… Yeah, you're right.''

''And, frankly, this is not fair for the dragons. This world is also their. We need a real solution, Hic.''

The young chief couldn't find something to reply, he had to admit it, and the tension he was feeling between Joke and him was not helping him thinking straight. All the problems of the Slaughterhouse and the overbusy Berk seemed pretty concernless compared to any fight he could have with Joke.

A noise from behind distracted them, they turned to see Toothless and his kids fighting for the peg leg, Lumiverse laughing at them. Hiccup sighed, he didn't dare imagine in what condition he would get back his leg. Toothless ended up getting it and started to chew it, growling on his babies as they were circling him in try to get it back.

When Lumiverse grumbled, the hatchlings instantly calmed down and started to climb on their father's back, their mother lying against him and pressing her head on his shoulder.

''You know, I think I found a solution for at least one of our problems.'' Hiccup said, trying to lift the tension in the air.

''Do you ?'' Joke asked, intrigued.

He turned to face him, sat with crossed legs and elbows on his knees, giving his full attention to his husband.

Hiccup felt a bit embarrassed knowing this bright blue eyes he adored that much were looking at him so intently. He was surprised he would still feel embarrassed with Joke's presence next to him, even after all these years they had known each other, even after nine years of being a couple, even after three years of being married… Sometimes he still felt as if they had just begun this relationship.

He ran a hand in his hair and took in a deep breath.

''I don't really need to 'give' an heir to the throne, I can transmit the title to whomever I want. I just need to pick someone else as heir. It had already happened in the past.''

''Huh huh...'' Joke said, he didn't seem convinced. ''And who would that be ?''

''I… I don't know yet, I admit it.''

He pressed his lips in a fine line, he felt like an idiot, but that made Joke chuckle. He sat properly, just next to him, elbowing him playfully, which made the viking smile again.

''Snotlout would be interested since he's always saying he's 'number two'.''

''Snotlout, heh…''

Hiccup let out a nervous laugh, then smirked a bit.

''I think he won't take too long to build his own family, I heard he had a really bad crush on your mother…'' He teased.

''Oh ! Playing dirty, huh ?'' Joke retorted, faking outrage.

''I don't know what you're talking about.'' Hiccup joked.

''How dare you !''

Joke cracked his knuckles and attacked his viking, tickling his sides, Hiccup bursted out in laughter and instantly fought back with much strength – they had also to admit the viking was not really ticklish, unlike his husband. They rolled on their side, and soon Hiccup found himself on top, sat on the tights of his victim, blocking him any way out, Joke couldn't do anything else than kick the air while shedding tears of laughter.

After a short moment, both stopped, steadying their breath and trying to calm down their giggles. Hiccup stayed bent over Joke, the pale wrists trapped in his hands, resting around his pale face with red cheeks from the laugh. Hiccup dove in his gaze, green and blue meeting and melting in one another.

Hiccup felt good at this moment, the outside world had disappear, the landscape and all the troubles within it too. The only things left were him and the one he loved, and the urge to kiss him. He leant in to do so, noticing how Joke's eyes slowly closed, which served him as permission. Yet, the kiss didn't occur as they got interrupted by vibrating moans coming from behind them.

They turned to see what was happening and had a bad surprise as it was their dragons going on their wild passion without even caring for the witnesses next to them nore their hatchlings.

''Oh, come on !'' Hiccup whined, covering his face trying not to see them. ''Well, thank you bud, I really didn't need to see that, it will haunt me for weeks !''

The dragons grumbled and stoped before taking off, no doubt to continue their lust in a more intimate place. Toothless growled something to the Night Lights, but they only obeyed when Lumiverse repeated it. The three troublemakers then flew towards the village instead of following them.

Joke smiled with amusement, it was always funny to see how the hatchlings were only obeying their mother, ignoring their father despite his Alpha title. Hiccup, for his part, grunted while trying to wipe this image out of his eyes, which made Joke chuckle.

''What a perfect love killer.''

Hiccup sat back next to him, heavily sighing. He chuckled too, then drew a seductive smile on his face.

''So, huh… Where were we ?''

Joke shook his head and grabbed his collar, pulling him closer.

''Come here, you.''

When their lips met, Hiccup felt butterflies in his belly. He so loved this sensatios, and loved even more to notice that time wasn't changing anything to it.

Any moment he was spending with Joke was making him craving for more. Every day, every year he was spending by his side was just increasing his feelings for him. And he knew that nothing in the world could change that.

''So… What about we resume this at home ?'' Joke asked, a seductive smirk playing on his lips.

Hiccup smiled and kissed him again, slowly, passionately. He was sure he was the happiest viking in the world.

* * *

I couldn't resist to the little cuties, I had to put the Night Lights here :)

Hope you like what I did with them.

For those who had read _Heirs of Berk_ and are wondering why their names aren't the same, let me explain. In the other story, the whole family, except from Toothless, as been named by Braan. His way of talking force him to seek simplicity, so he named all the dragons he knows with very short names, however in _The Lost Boy_, I wanted to give them more viking-like names, so here it is with Daylight, Midnight and Duskstorm.

What do you think ? Which names do you like the most ?

See you tomorrow for next chapter ;)


	4. Back around

New chapter, yeay !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Back around**

The following day started like a busy one for Hiccup, just like usual. Between ruling the village, maintenance of the dragon structures, some of their mess to clean up… There was a lot of things to do. Even with Gobber assisting him, Hiccup used to be overbooked.

When the young viking finally found some free time, he decided to visit his friends, and his husband. Just like any other day, Joke was at the Great Shed, the biggest infrastructure for dragons on the whole island, where he was helping his mother to heal and treat the dragons. Plus, as the new healer of the clan, Joke also had to take care of the vikings, Goathi was getting pretty old to handle them all by her herself.

But Elska had so much job than the elder, since the dragons were turbulents and often hurting themselves or others. This day, for instance, Joke was taking care of a Gronckle whose back was ponctuated by spikes, but it didn't seemed to be from a Deadly Nadder, the silver color was clearly from a Razorwhip. Hiccup didn't dare to imagine how this had happened. Elska was a bit farther in the shed, bandaging the tail of a Zippleback, while the three Night Lights were playing in a stall.

When the young chief reached his husband, he took him by surprise once again, placing his hands on his shoulders and kissing his cheek from behind. Just like every time Hiccup was doing this, Joke started then smiled.

''Hey babe ! Good you're here, I could use some help.''

''Yeah, I can see that…'' Hiccup rejoined, eyeing the Gronckle sleeping on his side.

He took a stool and pulled it next to his husband, but Joke made a sign to stop him.

''Don't worry for him, I got this. Lumiverse and Toothless are not back, can you fetch them ? I think they're still in the woods.''

''Huh… yeah, no problems.''

Hiccup was not bothered to do it, but their dragons missing worried him, especially since that meant the Night Lights were alone. Toothless and Lumiverse would never leave their babies alone too long. So he got up and led a kiss in the white hair before warning the others he was leaving.

''I'm going to the woods, searching for Toothless and Lumiverse.''

''Ah, good idea !'' Tuffnut said, joining him and wrapping a arm on his shoulders. ''A little privacy...'' He muttered.

''Huh...''

Hiccup was about to decline, but his friend hushed him while patting his chest, dragging him with him. Hiccup felt even less relaxed when he spotted his friend eyeing Joke, who was too busy with the Gronckle to notice. The fake-beard viking then rose his voice higher.

''Boy talk !''

''What… ?'' Hiccup hesitated.

''Come on, let's go work this out.''

They waited to get into the woods, away from the comotion of the village, to finally start this talk.

''So you wanna be daddy ?'' Tuff asked.

''Huh, no. Actually-''

''Good news ! Lots of pressure, judgements, and not just by me.''

''Look, Joke and I have talked about it and we agreed on-''

''Cold feet.''

Tuffnut put his hand on his shoulders and stopped him on his tracks.

''I've seen it before. Don't worry little Hicky, I'm here.''

He patted his shoulders and resumed the walk. Hiccup followed him with even more bewilderment.

''Hicky ?''

''I'm not saying you're not a good chief, huh huh. But concerning the legacy… Everyone has doubts. Okay, you love Joke, though I still don't understand why he loves you back… Anyway, you two can't have children together. So, you need a woman. And this is where your best friend comes in.''

''Which means ?'' Hiccup asked, worried. ''Please Tuff, don't tell me you're trying to mate me with your sister.''

''What ? No no no, you're crazy ? I wouldn't wish that to my worst enemy. No, I was talking about Astrid.''

''Astrid ?''

Hiccup stopped again, baffled, but Tuffnut kept on walking casually.

''Though you'll need to hold on if you want to convince her to carry your child. You need to focus on being worthy. I mean, she's a warrior, a queen for Thor's sake, and you… are… neither. But with me as your… spirit guide if you will...''

As he was ranting, Hiccup was stiffing more and more, clenching his teeth, not daring to imagine what that could lead to. He didn't want to think about it, he just wanted to find the Furies so they could quickly get back and end up this endless conversation.

''… you'll learn to embrace your inner viking, show these naysayers – that which are many – that you're more than just a malnourished runt with bad hair, strange teeth and a twig for a neck.''

''You… You're really bad at pep talks, you know...''

''Stop letting these insecurities get the best of you, everyone's watching you. I mean, everyone. You need to man up. Do as I do, it'll be hard, but you have my word. And until I break that word-''

Hiccup made a sign to him to shut him up when he heard a noise. He couldn't identify it with this voice still ranting, but he would have sworn it was a dragon.

''I won't give up !''

The auburn haired viking sped up and almost lost his friend to catch up with the noise he heard again. It sounded like a complain, a whine, and it was worrying.

As they were getting closer to the source of the sound, Hiccup spotted something shining in the grass. He waryly walked to it and picked up a dart. There was a translucent flask in it, filled with a strange purplish liquid.

''What ?'' Tuffnut grunted. ''Am I wasting my time here ? You see some shiny thing in the woods and- Oh ! What is that ?''

Hiccup didn't like this dart, it surely wasn't from the village. His only reflex was to check out their surroundings, making sure they were alone, then ran to the source of the whine.

Tuffnut followed him in panic, completely lost, but when they reached a glade, they froze in spot seeing the two Furies there… in a trap. The contraption was made of two parts, like a shell. Toothless was completely stuck in it, unconscious, while Lumiverse was hanging half stuck in it, half free, she seemed fogged-up. The whining was coming from her.

''Thor almighty...'' Tuffnut gasped.

''Toothless ! Lumiverse !''

Both vikings ran to the trap, their voices waking up the Night Fury. Toothless started to wrestle in the chains, stuck like a fly in a spider net. Lumivers only had her head and one front leg out of the trap, but the edges of it seemed to be crushing her chest and unabling her from breathing properly, she was wheezing and her scales were dull.

As Toothless was shaking the whole trap without managing to open it, Tuffnut picked a stick and used it to hit the metal, while Hiccup inspected the mecanism, trying to figure out how to defuse it. It felt like an agonying forever because of Toothless' cries of panic, no doubt he was sick worried for his mate, more than for himself.

When the trap was finally opened and freed the dragons, the Light Fury dropped to the ground, even more wheezing and a large bruise left on her chest. She remained on the ground, unable to stand up. Toothless rushed to her, whining, softly nuzzling her with worry, but she barely reacted.

Tuffnut stayed there, standing next to them without knowing what to do, with the sickening feeling of being helpless, while Hiccup knelt beside her, softly stroking her side.

''Easy, girl, it's gonna be okay. We'll bring you back home.''

She weakly opened her eyes, whining and wheezing, her mauve gaze full of tiredness and pain.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

When the vikings and the Furies got back to the village, the young chief was mad. After dropping Lumiverse off at the shed, leaving her under the care of the Storms and explaining to Joke what had happened, Hiccup brought the dart and a piece of the trap mecanism to the smithy, where he found Gobber, Astrid and Eret.

''Someone's here.'' He stated with a dark tone.

''What ?'' Gobber asked, dropping his work.

''He managed to slip past our scouts and lay a trap in the woods. Lumiverse had been hurt.''

''It ruined boy talk !'' Tuffnut added before throwing the dart blindly, making it land on the box Eret was carrying.

It made the ex-trapper jolt, since he almost got it in the face.

''Gods, let me out th- !'' Gobber angered.

''Slow down, Gobber.'' Hiccup stopped him. ''Let's get a search team on the ground, scouts in the air. Toothless and I will fly the coast line.''

''Yeah… I wouldn't advice taking the dragons anywhere, chief.'' Eret said.

They all turned to face him, listening to him. He was looking closely to the dart.

''I don't know if this thing is drug or poison, but addind to this the fact that this trapper had slip past our scouts, we can't take it lightly. This is someone smart.''

''Well, no that smart, he left his trap unmanned.''

''I think this was intented. We used to do this, where I'm from, when we wanted to catch attention.''

Eret gave the dart to Astrid, who got a closer look to it too, then he turned to Toothless. The dragon was walking in circles, watching the sky intently. Hiccup hated to see him like this, but he knew why he was acting like this : he was worried for Lumiverse and also angry against whoever had hurt her.

''Whoever did this wanted to send a message, chief.'' Eret added. ''It was a provocation, a way to show us he's here and can do whatever he wants without being caught.''

''Are you saying he's taunting us ?'' Astrid growled, clenching her fists.

''Maybe.''

''Well, he doesn't know who he's taunting.'' She said with confidence.

''Yeah, we've dealt with this kind before. Remember the trappers' armada and Kosmozis.''

Eret could have been convinced and reassured, but he still had a bad feeling about this. And whenever Eret had a bad feeling, Astrid trusted his judgement, convincing Hiccup to do so too.

''Don't underestime them, chief.'' Eret said. ''Judging by their operating mode, they'll come back.''

''Then we'll be waiting for them.''


	5. Threat on the clan

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Threat on the clan**

In the evening, in the darkness of the chief hutt only lighten up by a candle and the crackling fire in the middle of the living room, Hiccup was searching through his father's old books. He was trying to busy his mind while Joke was not there. The white-haired young man was still at the shed, spending the night there to look after Lumiverse and the Night Lights.

It had been three years since Stoick's death, but his absence in the house was still giving Hiccup a strange feeling. Usually, he could bare it since he lived with Joke and the Furies, but that evening, none of them were there, one healing, the other keeping an eye on her, and the hatchlings were with her. There was only Toothless and Hiccup in the house, and a lonely feeling as the black dragon was sleeping.

After finding the old dusty diary he was looking for, the young chief came back near his map to read the book. Despite Joke's disapproving this idea, he was still looking for the Hidden World of dragons. Hiccup had gathered all the diaries of his father which were focusing on the subject.

''Come on, give me a clue… Give me a clue, Dad.''

No mattered how much he was searching for it, he couldn't find something. He was still not giving up and remained focused, until he heard a creak from his rooftop. He started and looked upward, seeing a bit of dust falling from the beams. Surely a dragon. Hiccup glanced towards his best friend, peacefully sleeping under a blanket, then he closed the diary and folded his map.

Parquet creaked behind him, making him start again, and when he turned, he spotted a shadow in the darkness. Someone was there, filling a pint as if they were in their own house. But they weren't at home. This man was too tall to be Joke or Gobber, and surely too lean to be the black-smith. Hiccup stood instantly, on guard.

''Oh, I hope you don't mind if I help myself.'' The person said with nonchalance, with a voice that sounded familiar to Hiccup. ''Hm, this is quite good.''

This man really seemed to make himself comfortable, but Hiccup was not allowing it. He unsheathed Inferno and ignited it, allowing the added light to unveil the person in front of him. Hiccup froze when he recognized him. He didn't want to believe it, but it was true : that man was Kosmozis.

''Still impressive, but let me finish my drink.''

He seemed to have change a little despite the fact he was still wearing this metal armor with a no-longer-dark-blue-but-black cape. The dragon-skin cloak was not there anymore, instead he had added a hood to the cape.

Hiccup didn't hold back from frowning and felt hatred burning inside of him. Three years prior, he had defeated that man and had spared his life, yet Kosmozis was daring to show up again, breaking in his home and acting as if he had been invited. Plus, after what this man had done to Stoick, and what he had tried to do to Elska and Joke, Hiccup was wondering why he had spared him back then.

When the young chief eyed in the direction of the sleeping Night Fury, Kosmozis used his arbalet to shoot on him, without any warning.

''Toothless ! What did you do to him ?''

Kosmozis ended his drink and dropped the pint before walking towards the chief despite the chief's threatening voice.

''Oh come on, nothing that he won't sleep off.''

He reloaded his weapon with another dart with purple liquid, before sitting in the wooden throne of the house.

He slowly stroke the wood with a pleased smirk on his face.

''May I, chief ? Huh, do I say chief _h__iccup_ or do I have to be formal and call you the whole name ? What do you prefer ?''

The young viking didn't quite like how the general had just laughed at his name, actually hiccuping while saying it, but he let it slip away. He knew how Kosmozis liked to use words to infuriate his opponent, and that was not working on him.

The only answer he gave was a glare and some cautious steps forwards. Kosmozis remained as calm as he was known for, removing his hood and unveiling a few gray locks near his temples. The three past years seemed to have make him look older.

''I hope you remember me, young chief. I know we only met once and it was three years ago but-''

''I never forget a face, especially the one of the man who killed my father.''

''Hm, of course.'' He said, seemingly amused.

He kept this little smile on his face, smile that was running on Hiccup's nerves.

''You know he was not my target.'' Kosmozis added. ''Your father, I would have let him live. He was a great man. I actually had some respect for him. You know who was my real target.''

''Joke and his mother.''

'' 'Joke' ? What an awful name for my prince.''

Despite the man stillness, Hiccup stayed on guard, keeping a posture that was showing he was ready to fight. He wasn't found of talking to this man, actually he was really holding back from sliting his throat with his teeth. This man had killed his father. He had tried to kill Elska and Joke, and almost did. Hiccup had spared his life when he could have kill him, and despite of that this man dared to show up again in front of him, after laying a trap which could have kill Lumiverse and Toothless. Hiccup really didn't understand why he had not killed him.

Silence hovered around them, Hiccup was not going to be talkative, and Kosmozis understood it.

''Well, let's get straight to the point. I came here in order to finish the job I thought was done when we last met.''

Hiccup had guessed so, but hearing it for real still shook him up. He kept his composure, refusing to show it and give this satisfaction to his enemy.

''Don't deny it, rumors spread and I can see only one person matching with a 'white-haired warlock'. My prince had survived, but I can fix that. So you're going to hand him over to me, or-''

''I will never give him up !''

The General only laughed at that. He got up and pushed Inferno aside, even if its owner rose it up again. Kosmozis started again to walk around the room, still excessively calm.

''So, you want this monster to live among us ? As our equal ?''

Hiccup didn't replied but held his position, on guard, his eyes focused on his enemy, while the man in armor was talking.

''A toxic notion, my boy. Nature has made our world with differences, borders, hierarchy, and the Storms are…''

As he looked to the Night Fury he was getting closer to, Kosmozis trailed off, noticing something. There was something strange with the tail, something pocking out between the fins. Straw.

When he kicked it, the mass under the blanket moved, unveiling a human face. That was not Toothless, that was Fishlegs wearing a fake head of a Night Fury.

''Did we get him… ?'' He asked with a voice destorted by the drug, before collapsing.

Hiccup took advantage of the distraction and stole the arbalet from Kosmozis' grip and launched it out of reach, before giving the signal to the others.

''Now !''

Astrid, Eret and Gobber came out of their hiding spot, surounding the General which remained unfazed.

''Sorry to bother you !'' Gobber joked, brandishing the axe currantly replacing his hand.

Kosmozis smirked a bit, before turning back to the young chief.

''You think you can come into my home, set in my father's chair, and threaten _my_ husband ?! This is Berk, and we have always defended our family and way of life from far worst than you !''

''Oh !'' Kosmozis laughed. ''A fighting spirit, I love it, only… I'm afraid you're mistaking.''

He dropped his calm composure to finally show an expression on his face : frowning in rage, his voice getting deeper.

''There's nothing worst than me.''

He turned slowly and let out a loud whistle, then the roof above them suddenly bursted on fire and purred acid that caught fire when it dropped on the floor. One dragon came out of it, a black and red dragon they had never seen before.

Four legs, two sharp wings, tunks coming out from each side of its mouth, folding outgrowth on the front legs, a long thin tail. Astrid dodged it but fell harshly before finding herself face to face with the creature.

''Astrid, look out !'' Eret panicked, running to her rescue.

The beast rose its tail and opened the round part at the end of it, revealing a sting it used to attack her, but the viking was too fast and managed to fled. A smash from the same dragon stopped Eret from getting closer, before trying to hit Hiccup too.

Kosmozis softly chuckled, picking up his arbalet back, then whistled to a second dragon which had just entered the house, giving order to attack too. Gobber protected Hiccup with a shield he stole from the wall.

''Get clear, chief !''

Erret avoided a shot of burning acid and got back to Astrid while the blacksmith picked up Fishlegs and carryed him on his back. Then the four of them quickly got out of the house.

''Run !''

Hiccup had to dodge a few more attacks before hearing Kosmozis' voice rising from the smoke and flames. The whole house was burning to ashes.

''Have my prince ready when I return. Or I will destroy everything you love.''

A beam collapsed between them, forcing the viking to get out, as if the burning and choking air was not enough to convince him to do so. He didn't care at all for his enemy's fate, only his and his friends' counted. However, when he found them outside, he stopped as he noticed his house was not the only one on fire.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

A great storm started during the night, purring over the village a little too late. That rain would have been helful a few hours prior to put out the fires. The Great Mall was filled with a noisy comotion, as noisy as the storm outdoor.

All the vikings had been gathered there, angry and shouting at the village concil, led by their chief who was trying to calm them down, not to avail.

''Alright, everybody ! Settle down, please !''

The countless voices were still rising, but he ended up ignoring them to focus. On his left, Fishlegs was sprawled on the table, still trying to recover from the drug. Hiccup shook him.

''Fishlegs, have you ever seen that specie of dragons, before ?''

The stut blond viking straightened up and rose a finger to answer, only to fall backward, dragging his chair in the fall. Maybe making attempt that concil was not a good idea, Joke didn't even have the time to check him on.

Behind the now-lying-form, Snotlout and Eret watched without daring say anything.

''Ah, let me have 'em !'' Spitelout growled in the crowd.

''I'll give 'em piece of my mind ! And by mind, I mean fist !''

This viking was so infuriated he punched his neighbor in the face, knocking him out.

Other vikings in the crowd added to this anger, all of them wanted to tear the trappers appart, but Hiccup knew this viking madness would lead them to disaster. He had to temper them.

''Did you missed the part where we almost died ? Have you seen our houses, and the towers ? Kosmozis is stronger than the last time. Certainly, he doesn't have a fleet anymore, but he has a plan and new dragons with him. I underestimated him, I didn't know who we were dealing with. Now that's on me, but I will not do that again !''

Snotlout punched the table and stood to protest.

''We're vikings, we don't run from a fight ! At least, I don't. You might.''

He pointed to Eret, but the taller man stood too and walked to the chief.

''I agree with Hiccup. We haven't seen the last of the General Kosmozis. I learnt to know him when I worked for him. He is single-minded and patient. He won't stop until he gets what he wants.''

''But what does he want, exactly ?'' A woman asked in the crowd.

The young chief froze as he heard the question, which cut out all the arguments he was about to claim in order to calm down the villagers. What did Kosmozis want ? He had been pretty obvious about it, he wanted Joke's death.

It was already what he had wanted the last time, he wanted to kill every last descendant of Karan the Tracker, meaning Elska and Joke. He almost succeeded doing so, the fight against the Sentinel had been rough and, if it hasn't been for Stoick, Hiccup would have had burried two more beloved ones that day.

Kosmozis obviously had thought they had died back then, so why was he coming back around after three long years ? The General's voice echoed in Hiccup's mind, repeating the word he had said in the evening.

''_Rumors spread.''_

''_Only one person match to a 'white-haired warlock'. ''_

The young chief wanted to slap himself. Gobber was right, the dragon riders had been catching too much attention on them with their propaganda missions, and Joke couldn't hide his hair all the time, it was inevitable he would have been noticed soon or later, but thinking Kosmozis would have heard about it too…

They had not been careful enough, and now Hiccup was paying the prize.

Kosmozis had said it so himself, he was not targeting Berk, he didn't care at all for the clan, he only wanted the Storms. If he didn't seem to know Elska had survived too, it didn't change the fact he was after Joke. Kosmozis only wanted Joke, but he had threatened the whole clan to get him. Hiccup hated the idea to sacrifice one like for the good of many, even if one life was not a great loss for all the ones of the Hairy Hooligans and the countless dragons.

However, this life was the most important for him. Joke was that important for him, he couldn't stop thinking about all the things the white-haired young man had done for him, for the clan… espacially now that he had become the healer. No, there was no way Hiccup was handing him over. No way.

Kosmozis had threatened to destroy eveything he loved if they didn't give him the prince of Haze, yet this prince was everything the chief loved.

He had to refuse, even if this was puting in danger the whole clan.

The crowd was getting impatient with the lack of explanation from their chief, who glanced to the empty chair Joke was usually sitting in. His husband was not there, he was still in the shed with the dragons, and it wasn't that bad considering the situation.

The troubled young chief's attention was brought back to reality as he felt his mother-in-law's hand on his shoulder. It was funny, she also had chill skin. Even if Joke and her had lost the Alpha title for the Sentinel, the dragon blood was still running in their veins.

''Kosmozis is not after the clan.'' She explained. ''This is a revenge. All he wants is to kill the royal family of Haze.''

Silence fell in the Hall, as if the vikings were now thinking, thinking about something noone dared to say out loud. At least, until Snotlout shrugged.

''Then hand them over.''

''It's Elska and Joke, you moron !'' Astrid growled, holding back from the urge to punch him.

It was only because they were both at each side of the table she didn't already knocked him out. Snotlout, realizing what he had implied, hurried to get back his words.

''There's no way we hand them over ! We're vikings, we pull together no matter what !''

Next to him, Eret rolled his eyes. Astrid did too and when both noticed they did the same thing at the same time, they could have laughed about it if the situation was not that serious.

''We have to get this threat seriously.'' Elska added. ''Kosmozis is intelligent and determined. He doesn't need a fleet to cause damages. That was why he was such a good guard general back on Haze.''

Hiccup nodded and spoke again, this time he got the full attention of the crowd.

''We already fought against him, but this time he seems to have a real plan, and ressources, and us… We're not just overcrowded, were are exposed and vulnerable.''

All eyes remained on him. Not just the villagers, but also the concil. Eret, Snotlout, Gobber, Elska and Astrid.

''Short of full-blown-war and risking everyone we love, I don't...''

He leaned on the table, then eyed towards Joke's vacant chair. He thought back to the conversation they had about it, to his refusal, and he knew his husband was not going to approve what he was going to say. But he still did say it.

''I don't see a way of staying here any longer.''

Loud and vivid protests rose from the crowd.

''Not possible !''

''What would Stoick think of this ?!''

Outcry increased more and more, until the moment Astrid jabbed her axe in the table and roared at the whole room.

''Hey ! Hear him out !''

She sat back and nodded to her friend and chief, who nodded back in gratefulness. Hiccup faced his people with renewed confidence and calm, then he managed to explain himself as he wanted.

''If we want to live in peace with our dragons, we need a better plan.''

''So what are you saying, chief ?'' Gobber asked.

Hiccup turned to him but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him.

''I'm saying we have to disappear, off the map. Take the dragons to a place where no one would find them.''

''And where that might be ?'' A viking growled in the assembly, clearly not convinced as many were.

''I'm talking about a quest for the Hidden World.''

''The hidden what ?''

In the middle of the crowd, settled at a table, the twins laughed.

''And they say we are nuts.'' Ruff snickered.

''My father was obsessed with it when I was a boy.'' Hiccup explained, showing the diary and map he had managed to save from the fire. ''He made notes and maps in search for the ancestral home of all dragons. Tucked away somewhere beyond the edge of the world. It may be the solution we need. We are dragon people, it's where we belong.''

New protests rose from the villagers, some of them seemed to agree, the most of them not at all. Hiccup knew his people enough to know how headstrong they were. If speaking with reason was not enough, he had to convinced them with the heart.

''Look, I know this place is our home. My father left me to protect it. But Berk is more than this place. _We_ are Berk, the people, the dragons. I say Berk is anywhere _we_ go.''

Silence fell in the entire room. A lot of vikings still felt offended by this plan, others let the chief's speech touch them, others were just sad. None dared to talk.

In the middle of this deafening silence, Tuffnut suddenly rose from his chair, fists up in the air, and he shouted with all his heart.

''I'm with him, who else ?!''

And that was how the exodus was decided.


	6. Exodus

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Exodus**

A few days were necessary for the vikings to gather their belongings, days that allowed Lumiverse to recover, but she was still weak and needed to rest, so she was not flying on her own but laying on one of the loads. Joke was riding Toothless with Hiccup, making the three coming back in nostalgia to the days before the peace with dragons.

A huge convoy of dragons was soaring in the sky, above the sea, heading west. All the food, all the belongings, even animals were carried in drakkars. To protect them and avoid them to become some playing target, the sheeps had been disguised in dragons, but some of the reptiles weren't fooled, especially the Terrible Terrors that used to live on ground with them.

Fishlegs flew within the convoy in panic, trying to catch the small Fishmeat who was constantly trying to get away, though the viking was even trying to bait him with peebles.

''Fishmeat, look ! Eat your rocks, eat your rocks !''

''Gods ! People who fly with a baby are the worst !'' Snotlout grunted.

He ducked when said baby burped a firing rock on him, it landed on his back seat, fortunately the saddle was ignifuged. Obviously, or it would have been burnt in ashes a long time ago.

To the front of the convoy, Gobber made his dragon fly closer to Toothless, where he could speak to the chief leading them.

''I feel like I'm always asking you this question, but- AAH !''

He screamed as Grump had suddenly fall asleep, in the middle of his flight, making him drop.

''Wake up, Grump ! Wake up !''

The Hotburple did so and went up again, this time behind the Night Fury. Hiccup used his telescope to look at the horizon, a glee on his face.

''Is there an actual plan or… ?'' Gobber finally asked.

''Just keep flying until we reach the end of the world.'' The young chief replied, smiling.

''Ah… Seems sensible.''

At least they had a plan, but 'reasonable' was not exactly part of the vikings' habits. The plan was light, their destination unknown, how long they would travel too, and yet Hiccup was ecstatic. Surely it was due to the nostalgia of his old expeditions, and Joke sitting behind him with his arms around his waist added to the sensation, even if the white-haired young man's mind was focused elsewhere.

Joke was only looking at the dragon resting on the deck of the drakkar following them. She was surrounded by her hatchlings.

''She's gonna be fine.'' Hiccup said reassuringly, patting his hands. ''You said yourself we was healing better than expected.''

''Yeah, I know, she's stubborn like a viking. I just can't help but think about what could have happened if the trap had not been left alone-''

Hiccup cut him before he could panic.

''Hey, that didn't happen. We found them, and they're fine. And as long as we're here, nothing's gonna happen to them. Nore to you.''

He looked at him with determination and confidence, which managed to reassure him. Joke pinced his lips but still nodded as a reply. Then Hookfang went pass them, Snotlout lamenting in his back.

''Argh, it just keeps going.''

''That's 'cause the world is actually round !'' Tuffnut claimed.

Obviously, all laughed at this, but it didn't stoped him. Back at this time, everyone thought the Earth was flat, it was common knowledge.

''Sun's round, moon's round, stars are round, even if they're small and stupid.''

His sister guffawed at that.

''Right, stars...''

In the meanwhile, back on Berk, a fleet had gathered around the island full of abandoned houses. The three war-lords found Kosmozis sitting in the stairs leading to the burnt house of the chief. He was casually sitting there, eating an apple with his Deathgrippers around him.

''So ? Where are they ?'' Khan asked.

''Gone, obviously.''

''What ?!'' Ack added with boiling anger. ''What do you mean 'gone' ?! I thought we had to burn them to ashes ?!''

She didn't know what was infuriating her the most about that man : his plan failing or him staying calm no matter the circumstances.

She was the first to reach the top of the steps, and noticed there was a map laying next to him.

''What are you complaining about, Ack ? It's good for business. The dragon riders are fleeing. Plus, they've abandoned their only defensible position. Running scared with the little they can carry.''

Ragnar may was Kosmozis' most loyal mate and was ready to defend him against the others, but he had troubles doing so this time.

''So… What ? Do we go after them ? We want their dragons too, don't we ?''

''Yes, we do.''

''But how do we do that if we don't know where they went to ?!'' Khan insisted with alsmost as much impatience as Ack.

Kosmozis pinched his nose bridge.

''I thought it was obvious...'' He sighed.

He turned his map towards them and used his dagger to point at the different islands.

''Most warm-blood dragons can't survive in the cold, they hadn't gone north. They're trying to put distance between themselves and enemies to the east and south. And Night Furies cannot fly long distances without rest. Their flight path might includes stops.''

He pointed to different islands on the west part of the map, looking at them to make sure they were understanding.

''Therefore, they've gone… They can only have gone… Does anyone want to take a guess ?''

''West !'' Ack growled, out of patience. ''That doesn't solve our actual problem ! Just a direction won't help us to find them !''

''And here I thought you were dragon hunters, can't you follow tracks ?'' Kosmozis teased in a sigh.

Ack couldn't bare him anymore and grunted before shoving aside Ragnar so she could leave, but not before she had glared to the General.

''Thank goodness he's paying us…'' She grumbled.

She got quickly followed by Khan, then by the last war-lord.

''Come on, where is your love of the hunt ? I thought you were conquerers. You'll have your prize, in time.''

As they were getting away from him, Kosmozis replaced his amused smile by a darker one, end frowned.

''It's the last one, let me enjoy my winning.''

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

''Pee-break !'' Fishlegs shouted.

As the group just spotted a huge island emerging from the sea fog, they didn't bother to make a stop. It had been hours since their last stop, almost an entire day, so vikings and dragons did need some rest.

The island looked like a giant rock the gods had lifted from the ocean, a huge fortified castle, so high only dragons and gods could reach it. Once they reached the top, berkians discovered a heavenly landscape, waterfalls, countless coves, mixing forests and lakes on different levels.

When they found a nice isle surrounded by one of the lakes and close enough to the edge of the island, facing west, they landed. The island was so huge an among of barely-domesticated dragons started to spread everywhere. Only those who lived with the viking since the peace remained with them, which made a lot of room for everyone to be at ease.

''Alright, looks like we'll camp in here for tonight.'' Hiccup said.

''Well, thanks Thor for that !'' Gobber rejoined, rubbing his butt while Grump was already asleep on the grass.

The young chief barely got the time to dismount his best friend as said dragon rushed to the drakkar where his family was. Joke laughed and got off his back before helping him move Lumiverse. But she growled at him while the Night Light were circling her in their usual energy.

''Okay princess, I got it, you can do it without help.''

Joke shook his head. Sometimes this dragon could be as fierce and stubborn as a viking, but it was not really like her to growl at him like this. Surely this incident with the trap had shaken her.

Hiccup looked at them for a moment, before he got distracted by Tuffnut's voice.

''Yes ! My own place ! I plan to build a hutt… only for the bearded ! Ruffnut, you've got to stay out ! Chin duvet don't count !''

''For gods' sake, stop that !'' She grunted.

A bit farther, Snotlout was taking visual measures while dreaming out loud.

''I see a tower of manness in the shape of me !''

But his dream got interruted as Eret entered his sight.

''It's gonna be taller than Eret, with bigger muscles.''

''Wha- What… ?''

''Get out of my house !''

''Hey, is there a problem here ?''

''Yeah, there's a problem !''

Snotlout kicked a box against a barrel and climbed on it so he could get taller. Since the box was not enough, he got on the top of the barrel, getting so tall h had to bend to look at the even-more-confused viking.

''Ever since you showed up, you're trying to upstage me ! You're so jealous, it's delusional !''

Hearing this, Eret started to laugh.

''Yeah, 'delusional' is a good word for it.''

''Listen, son of Eret, when Hiccup blows in his chief, I'm next in line. Number two, plus I'm clearly Elska's favorite.''

When he rose three fingers instead of two, Eret rolled his eyes, but it didn't stop the dreams of glory of the viking hung up by his height.

''So… better start- show me some respect !''

He lost his balance on the barrel but caught up before pointing at the ex-trapper who was now going away with his bagages. When he walked pass Gobber, the black-smith heard him mutter.

''Strange little man.''

''Ah, don't mind him, it's not your fault you have the body of a north god. I, myself, have the same problem.''

When he tried to show off the few muscles he was hiding under his fat, he straightened too fast and cracked his back, making him shout in pain. He ignored it and went back to work. He pulled out a hoe from his belongings and jabbed it in the ground.

''Black-smith stall going right here !''

But he only had this moment of enjoyment as he screamed again, this time from fear and surprise, when he saw not one, but five Hopglobbers, staring intently at him.

''… four… five… Where's… ''

He backed with his hands held up, without noticing there was a gathering forming around the chief.

''Guys, hold on, I-I said 'make camp', not 'build a new village'.''

''Who died and made you chief ?'' Snotlout grunted on top of his barrel.

Goathi went pass him in her flying basket, carried by her Terrors, and used her staff to knock him in the helmet. The vikings dismissed him and focused back on Hiccup.

''Granted, this place is very nice, but it's not the Hidden World.''

''We don't even know if this Hidden World exists !'' A vikings complained.

''Yeah.'' Reekfrid added, pointing to the ground he was standing on. ''_This_ place is real.''

Other voices agreed, making Hiccup feel a bit uncomfortable as he, once again, noticed he had troubles to convince them, but Elska came to his rescue.

''There's nothing more stubborn than a mob of tired hungry vikings.''

That aught to make him smile.

''Well, I guess this can work as base in the meantime. It's defensible, hidden…''

He breathed in and spoke higher.

''Alright, you can stay.''

''Say hello to New Berk !'' Gobber claimed.

All rejoyed.

''Let's get building, lads !''

''Until we find the Hidden World !'' Hiccup corrected.

All celebrations stopped, some vikings even booed.

''That was too good to be true...''

Hiccup was planing on joining Joke and the Furies to relax a bit, but that was before Tuffnut accosted him. Again with an arm over his shoulders, again with the 'pep talk'.

''Now, about that voice, can we loose the all honking goose thing ? Hard to imagine bed bliss that going off every minute.''

He snickered and walked away, Hiccup rolled his eyes, he was just tired now.

Elska saw them and felt how the young chief needed to think about something else. So she came back to him.

''If you're going to continue west, I should head back to make sure we weren't followed.''

''I don't know Elska, you-''

''Great idea !'' Snoutlout irrupted between them. ''I'll go with you for protection-''

''No !''

He started. Sensing she was hurting his feeling, Elska felt forced to make it up to him.

''You're far too important here.''

''Yeah.'' He smiled brightly without even suspecting what she was really thinking.

She sighed in relief when he left, making Hiccup smirk. Then she turned, aiming to leave, but Hiccup stopped her.

''Elska, that's not a good idea. You know Kosmozis is not only targeting Joke. If he learns that you survived too… I can't let you run into the lion's den.''

''Don't worry for me, I can handle myself perfecty, and Fiery's here to protect me.''

''Yeah, I know, it's just… Be careful, okay ?''

''Of course I will.''

She turned and took a step away, then stopped again, before looking back at him. She opened her mouth but couldn't make a word. She looked like she wanted to say something but didn't really dare, so Hiccup incited her to speak.

''What is it ?''

''This plan to hide us from the rest of the world, though… Though I wish it was possible, I fear… it can't last, Hiccup. You know I tried to do the same for years at the Sanctuary, and so did my people at Haze, but… Someone always find us out, and only one person can ruin everything. I'd just…''

She hesitated for a second, then patted his shoulder.

''I only ask you to think about it.''

A new pat, then she really left. She went to Joke, a few steps from them, and warned him she was leaving. Worried, he tried to hold her back, but she reassured him the same way she did with Hiccup, then kissed his forehead before going.

The conversation seemed to last a bit longer, as if they had talked about something else, but Hiccup was too far away to hear them. Still, he could guesse she asked Joke to talk to him about the plan. Hiccup knew these two were not convinced by the exodus.

Joke looked at his mother leaving, then went back to unboxing his belongings with a sad face. Lumiverse was on the other side of the boxes, sound asleep with her babies in her paws. Midnight, Daylight and Duskstorm were also asleep. Hiccup had to admit it was rare to see them that still, it looked like the hatchlings wanted to give comfort to their mother, helping her heal.

Hiccup smiled to this thought, then walked to his husband.

''Do you still think that I'm crazy ?'' He asked.

''Let's just say this relocation is so Hiccup-like.''

''Oh…''

It took Hiccup by surprise. Joke almost sounded like he got used to the idea. He may have understood it was too late to stop this departure, or was it Lumiverse' health troubling him ? Elska's departure surely didn't help him. One thing for sure, he looked exhausted.

Hiccup pinced his lips with embarrassment. Since they had argue the first time they had talked about an exodus, the young chief was worried a new tension would appear between them and rather wanted to talk about it straight away.

''Thanks to still support me anyway, it means a lot.''

''I know, and you're welcome, even if I still think the Hidden World is not the answer.''

Hiccup pinched his lips even more, unable to answer anything. He had to admit that what Elska just told him made him thoughtful. Instead of replying with words, the young chief hugged his husband and kissed his hair, keeping him in his arms in try to soften the anguish Kosmozis was creating in his heart.


	7. Night surprise

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Night surprise**

Night has fallen on the island for a few hours and all the vikings and dragons were sound asleep. Hiccup too. He had dazed out on a bed made of logs and furs, next to Toothless, his father's diary on the face. Yet, as everything was still and silent, Toothless suddenly woke up by a presence near the tent.

He got up quickly, making his viking fall from the bed. Said viking ended up sprawled on the ground, half awake.

''Toothless, no… it's too early…''

But the dragon ignored him, he came outside and spotted the white silhouette sneaking between the tents and drakkars, getting away from the camp.

Lumiverse stopped and looked back at him, signing him to follow her. He did so by bouncing in an excited fashion, but since he was getting too loud she growled at him. He instantly quiet down and made his way to her, yet it was already too late. He had already woken up Hiccup. The viking got out of his tent, adjusting his belt while yawning. Then he noticed that it was still dark, and that there were white scales in the grass.

He hesitated, then looked where Joke had stayed with Lumivers, but he only found his husband and the Night Lights, piled up inside a box. Worried for the two missing dragons, he woke up his beloved.

''Joke ?'' He called while softly shaking him. ''Wake up, babe.''

''Hmm whatzit… ?'' He mumbled, opening his eyes tiredly.

''Our dragons are gone.''

''What ?!''

Joke jolted and hit his head on the edge of one box, making him clench his teeth while pressing his hands on his head. Hiccup felt bad for him, but his worry for the dragons was more pressing. Joke sat up while rubbing his head, asking what was happening with just his look.

''I think Lumiverse has fetch Toothless, they left together.'' Hiccup explained.

Joke rubbed his face again, this time in try to wake up properly, then looked towards the box of the hatchlings. He thought about it for a short moment, then his whole face changed as he got a revelation. Hiccup worried even more, until Joke suddenly beamed and grabbed his hands.

''I get it !'' He assured with energy but still in a whisper so he won't wake up anyone else.

Hiccup got puzzled by his reaction, really not understanding and just wanting his husband to explain it so himself could calm down.

''She's been weird for the past few days.'' He said, smiling as if it was not worrying.

''What do you mean ?''

Now, Hiccup was anxious.

''She's getting tired easily, she's irritable, she refuses me to touch her and sometimes even to come near her.''

''That doesn't sound like her, certainly not with you. She would not act like this with you.''

''I know, I thought it was related to the trap in the woods, but I just remembered it had already happened two years ago.''

Hiccup hesitated for a moment, searching in his memories. When he finally found out, he beamed just the same way as his husband, squeezing his hands too.

''You think she's gonna… ?''

''Come on, let's check this out.''

It was the only explanation, and it shook the young chief the same way it had happened the first time. Last time Lumiverse had acted like this, it was just before she had laid her eggs.

''Yeah, let's go.'' The viking smiled.

He took his husband's hand and helped him on his feet, then they went back to Hiccup's tent and followed the scales into the woods. If Toothless was shedding too, there were a lot more scales from Lumiverse – proving this egg theory – and they were more visible in the dark due to their hue.

It was not difficult to follow them, but they were getting much away from the camp. They kept on tracking until they reached the beach of their isle within the island. They stopped just under a tree stump, spotting their dragons on the beach, near the water. Lumiverse was quietly laying on her side, watching as Toothless was bouncing all around her, circling her with a limitless joy he only had with the Night Lights.

Hiccup couldn't help but smile and stood again, dragging his husband with him, yet Joke stopped and put his free hand to his head, which seemed painful. The young chief instantly stopped and worried.

''Hey, you're okay, babe ? Is it because of the knock back then ?''

''No, don't worry, that's nothing. I just got up too quickly.''

Weirdly, Hiccup didn't buy it. He noticed that Joke seemed paler than usual, even ghastly, as if he was sick. The white-haired young man shook his head and smiled again when he looked downward, towards their dragons. They had spotted them, and Toothless rushed to them, bouncing in delight, circling them and licking their face. He accompanied them when they came down the sandy slope separating them from Lumiverse. Hiccup slipped two times and fell the third one, making Toothless laugh at him.

The black dragon then grabbed his peg leg in his mouth and dragged the viking in the sand, amusing Lumiverse and Joke. The Light Fury's gaze followed them and she cooed to her rider and friend, who walked to her and stroked her head. The fact that she let him touch her again warmed his heart up. It also meant that she had led her eggs, and he spotted them between her paws, where he crouched.

Hiccup got up and wiped the sand off his clothes, then could finally join his husband. Just like him, he crouched in front of Lumiverse, pressing against him until he could rest his head on his, both of them looking at the small shapes inbetween the protective paws of the white dragon.

''Looks like we're gonna have two more Night Lights.'' Joke smiled.

Hiccup smiled too but didn't reply. No need to. He put a hand on Joke's knee and remained against him, contemplating the eggs. They didn't look like the previous ones. Hiccup remembered the eggs of Duskstorm, Daylight and Midnight as if he had seen them the day before. Two had been almost completely black with some white spots – more for Duskstorm than Midnight – and Daylight's had been white with three black spots on it.

These two eggs were completely different, foresaying the dragons in it were not going to look like their siblings. The first one was completely black while the other was covered in spots everywhere, white and dark grey mixing ramdomly.

Joke put his hand over his husband's, still smiling. When he met his dragon's mauve eyes, she cooed to him, then gently nuzzled him in the belly, purring softly. She looked at him again before cuddling her new eggs lovingly. This was really touching for the two young men, yet this peaceful picture got interrupted but Toothless' overwhelming joy. He ran just behind them and toppled them playfully, Hiccup got the reflex to catch Joke on him, making him laugh.

However, as he was expecting to hear the signature laugh of his husband, his ears were met by a faint grunt, and Lumiverse's worried look didn't escaped his attention. He sat up and looked at Joke, who was clasping a hand over his mouth, a grimace on the face. His skin seemed ghastly again, and the viking would have sworn his lover's body was warmer than usual.

''H-Hey ?'' He asked with a shaky voice. ''You sure you're okay ?''

Joke made a frantic sign to him with his free hand, he used him as support to get up and made a few steps away before dropping on his knees. Then viking and dragons heard him throw up. Hiccup worried anew and followed him. As he caught up and knelt beside him, Joke had finished and was breathing deeply, both hands on his forehead as if he was using his chilly fingers to soothe a fever.

Hiccup hesitated, then put a hand on his arm, using the other to draw smooth and reassuring circles on his back. None of them talked, giving time for Joke to steady his breath. After a moment, the young chief talked, but his voice came out harsher than he intended to.

''Joke, talk to me. What is it ?''

''Nothing to worry about.'' His husband assured him while wiping his mouth on his sleeve. ''I talked about it to Goathi, she said it was only due to overwork.''

''How long has it been you're feeling like this ?''

''A little while, but it's only happening in the early morning. I'd get better in a few hours.''

He blinked and turned his face, that looked nauseated, to his worried viking.

''You don't have to worry, really.'' He said, smiling.

Hiccup pinched his lips in a faint smile, shrugging.

''I can't help it.''

He got closer and kissed his forehead, which was warmer than usual, then slipped a hand under his knees, the other on his back, to carry him bridal style. Joke chuckled and grabbed his shoulders to hold onto.

''Hey, stop that, I can walk on my own.''

Hiccup faked outrage and hold back a laughter.

''What ? Are you telling me I can't take care of my husband ?''

The white-haired young man shook his head with amusement before meeting his eyes. Hiccup felt a bit relieved as he saw this mischievous spark he loved so dearly. He tightened his grib on him.

''I'll bring you back to our tent, you can rest there in a 'real' bed. If you don't feel better in the morning, we'll call Goathi, okay ?''

''… 'Kay.''

The mention of the bed made Joke chuckle. Indeed, viking wooden beds were not known to be pretty comfortable, but it was still better than sleeping on logs. Well, actually… with enough blankets and furs, that could get pretty comfy.

''What do we do for the dragons ?'' The sick young man asked.

''Tooth and Lumi will catch up with us there. Right, guys ?''

Hiccup turned to the dragons, who were still surounding their eggs. If Toothless' ears popped up on his head and his eyes shone, Lumiverse let out a soft warble, which served as an answer for the boys. Hiccup then started to walk back to the camp, then he saw the dragons flying above them. He couldn't see the eggs in their paws, but that didn't worried him : he knew the dragons were carrying eggs and hatchlings in their mouth.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The camp was still being built, slowly turning into something more comfortable and permanent, smooth dawn was shining over wood and tissue. Astrid was quietly walking between the tent, she wasn't planing on doing a lot of things during the day, just thinking about her future hutt. Lost in her thoughts, she was heading to the smithy-in-building, where she wanted to ask for Gobber's advices about her ideas. She had to admit it also was an excuse to visit her little brother.

Yet, she didn't found him there. Instead, there was Hiccup, working on a precarious workdesk. There was a lot of old sketches plastered on a wooden wall behind him. Looking at them, Astrid got surprised as she recognized the sketches for an incubator. It was something the young chief had designed when Lumiverse had laid her eggs.

This device had a basket-like-shape and could contain up to four eggs. There was compartment bellow it where viking could put embers and Monstruous Nightmare spit so they could keep the eggs warm without buzying the parents.

Astrid wondered why he was working on it, and convinced herself he was making a replacement – he might have forgotten the original one back on former-Berk. Or was it again Barklock's Monstruous Nightmare who had melted it with her too-hots-eggs ?

She came closer and got a look at what her friend was doing. He was tightening the nuts keeping closed the trap bellow it, it was almost over, meaning he was working on it for hours.

''Someone hasn't slept.'' She stated. ''Did you happen to see Joke ?''

''If he's awake, he's probably with Lumiverse.''

''She's been a bit weird these past few days, hasn't she ? Is she okay ?''

''Oh yeah, Toothless and her gave us a surprise last night, you see.''

''What do you mean ?''

Hiccup lost his focus on his project and smiled at her, which surprised her. He didn't speak, yet she still linked this smile to Lumiverse's behavior, then to his project.

''Really ? Again ?'' She beamed.

''Yup. Lumiverse led two more eggs.''

''If they keep on like this, they'll repopulate the whole island.''

''Don't tell me.'' He laughed. ''We already have a lot of work with the trouble-trio, I don't dare imagine what it'll be with two more rascals.''

Astrid laughted and looked at him finishing the device. Once it was done, the young chief looked at it with satisfaction, then got up from his stool. Though Toothless didn't left him time to take a step as he came out of nowhere. He was even more excited than during the night, slubbering everywhere and bouncing all around them.

''Hey there bud, you seem even more happy than during the first brood.'' Hiccup teased.

The dragon licked his lips to wipe the slime, then lifted his head to let out a soft chirping sound the vikings had only heard once a time : the mixture of a warbble and purring. The Night Fury spun in his spot, then walked to his viking before nuzzling him in the back, the hit so strong he almost made Hiccup fall. The other vikings around them, mostly Gobber and Eret, laughed at it.

''Hey, calm down. I finished the sitter, wanna bring it to Mrs. Toothless ?''

The dragon chirped even more and licked his viking's face, making him laugh and protest at the same time, trying to wipe it off. Astrid squinted her nose in disgust, she had always wondered how could Hiccup bare this, and how Joke had managed to get used to it – even if he still had some difficulties. Most of all she was thankful for Stormfly not doing this.

Toothless left in delight, Hiccup could finally really wash his face, under the teasing gaze of his friend and sister-in-law. The stare was a bit too insistent to his taste and made him a bit uneasy.

''What ?'' He asked.

''Nothing. It's just… With everything you do for Toothless' hatchlings, I happen to think you'd be a great dad.''

Hiccup stiffened hearing this. He refused to admit it, but these words – which aimed to be harmless – rubbed salt in a wound in his heart. He thought back to what Gobber had said, but also to what Tuffnut had tried to tell him in his way.

Since he had become chief of the clan, Hiccup had had to make sacrifices. He had given up on his expeditions to focus on his new responsabilities, he had to give up on his position as the leader of the Dragon Training Academy, leaving it to Fishlegs. He also had dramatically decreased his flights with his best friend… all of that to be a good chief.

He considered he had already given a lot to this position, though people were still expecting more from him. People expected him to have children so they could have heirs to the throne, to maintain the chieftain blood-line. Not that it would bother him to be a dad, he had already assumed that Joke and him were, somehow, the Night Lights' dads… or rather uncles.

What really bothered him what the fact Gobber was right : he could never have children with Joke. It saddened him a bit, yet he would have never wanted to have children with someone else.

Not only because it would mean cheating on his lover, but also sharing this intimate moment with someone else, someone he wouldn't love. No, there was no way he could do that. Not to Joke, and not to himself. So he had resolved he would never be a father. So he had resolved to be a father by proxy of his best friend : he would take care of the Night Light – the five Night Lights – as if they were his own children.

But that was not resolving the problem : the throne of Berk needed heirs. He reminded what he had said to Joke about it, but he couldn't picture himself entrust the future of the clan to Snotlout. Despite his qualities as a dragon rider, a viking and brave warrior, this guy was too self-obsessed, self-conscious, haughty, belittling, and even mean sometimes. His father Spitelout was the same, so the viking's children were likely to be the same.

However, Hiccup suddenly had an idea. Astrid's hand on his shoulder, asking him if he was alright as he got lost in his thoughts, reminded him of his friend's personality. Astrid was valiant, brave, tenacious, protective, she would have been a great chief if she had been of Haddock's family.

As she was concerned by his friend's thoughtful expression, she got quizzical when he beamed, then calmed down in try to keep his composure.

''Astrid, can I ask you a question ?''

''You just did.'' She replied with a hint of suspicion. ''But do go on.''

''I… Look, I don't know what awaits for us in the future, but…''

He hesitated for a short moment, noticing how Gobber and Eret were looking at them, seemingly curious of the conversation. The young chief pinced his lips and swallowed hard before speaking lowly.

''Can we talk about this in privacy ?''

Astrid frowned, even more suspicious, but still nodded in reply.

Toothless followed them as they left, well, until he spotted the Night Lights playing in a wood-loaded wagon where they were shooting their small – but already dreadful – plasma blasts.

The Night Fury dropped the duo and tried to stop his hatchlings with his father autority – which Hiccup anticipated not going to work. He hold back from helping his best friend, as he knew he had to have this talk with Astrid, the sooner the better.

When the two vikings stopped far enough for nobody to eavedrop them, Astrid crossed her arms and leant against a tree, a concerned look on her face. She could see Hiccup was nervous, but she couldn't say why.

''So ?'' She asked, trying to be gentle. ''What did you wanted to tell me ?''

''Astrid, I… I thought a lot about what Gobber said.''

The young woman tried to recall it, but she couldn't even picture to when he was refering to. Gobber always said a lot of things, anyway.

''About the heirs, I mean.'' He corrected.

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly things came into place in her mind, she could picture what he was about to ask her, and violently reacted to it.

''No ! No no no and no ! Hu-huh, count me out !''

''Wait, that's not what you think-''

''I know desperate times call to desperate measures, but _this_ ? I don't even understand you're asking _me _! How could I do this to my own brother ?! And don't tell me you're asking me because Joke is my brother !''

''Astrid, please calm down, this is not what I'm asking you.''

''Oh really ? So what are you asking, exactly ?''

She clenched her fists and threatened him with it, Hiccup didn't need to be a soothsayer to know she was capable to beat the shit out of him, even if he was her chief. He stiffened and didn't move, hoping for her to relax, but she didn't. Actually, it got worst as she death-glared at him and lifted her fist to renew the threat, silently asking him to explain himself right now.

''I could _never_ do that to Joke.'' He said while making crazy gestures with his hands. ''I could never do this to _us_.''

Astrid finally calmed down. She knew him well enough to know when he was lying, he was really not a good liar and would stutter at the very beginning of the lie. Plus, the way he was swinging his arms around him showed that he meant his words from the depth of his heart.

Obviously, she knew how much he loved her brother, but it was still good to see proofs of it. She dropped her fists and accepted to listen to him.

''There's a tradition saying that, if the chief decides so, he can transmit the chieftain title to someone else. Astrid...''

He clasped his hands in a pleading manner, which enhanced the look on his face. This conversation started to have solemn vibes which made both of them uneasy.

''I want your children to inherit Berk's throne. The ones you'll have on your own, with the man you'll choose to love.''

Astrid couldn't reply. She had been frightened at the begining of this conversation, she even had felt insulted, yet all her fear just faded. Hiccup's words shook her and moved her, she felt respected and trusted, more than she had ever been in her whole life.

The young chief stood still in front of her, his hands still joined, holding his breath in the apprehension of her answer. After what felt like a forever, she finally spoke.

''I'd be honored, Hiccup.''


	8. Preventive strike

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Preventive strike**

Elska and Fiery were flying for so long they were starting to get tired. Only an hour had elapsed since their last stop, but the air was filled with a thick fog, making flying more tiredsome for the Guardian. They were only a few hours left from former-Berk but had to stop beforehand as they suddenly saw a great fleet hiding in the mist.

They were too high to be seen, mist and clouds hiding them, but it was before they came into a strange flying structure. Elska squinted her eyes to see it better. Four dragons were carrying it, the plasform seemed heavily weaponed but not large enough to carry more that three persons, maximum.

The former queen tried to get closer, but a dragon suddenly smashed into Fiery. It was so harsh Elska got ejected from his back, but she managed to hold on to her trustful friend as she used her spear to grab one of his horns. With a twist of his head, he pulled her back on his back and turned to face his attacker.

Elska recognized the black and red dragons Kosmozis used to burn former-Berk. Another came from the opposite direction, Fiery managed to dodge him thanks to his rider's warning, then he grabbed him and threw him on the other dragon. Both got barely unbalanced and were ready to attack again, but Elska couldn't take any risk.

''Go Fiery, go !''

Both Deathgrippers were ready to follow them, but got called back by an annoyed whistle from Kosmozis. He had been too far to see which dragon his had attacked, but if he had known who it was, he would have never called them back.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

A party had been thrown on New Berk. Unlike what Hiccup had said, the vikings had kept on building the camp as if they were settling in this island. Several wooden skeletons of houses were surrounding tables where all the vikings had gathered for a banquet.

''To the chief !''

''To the chief !''

''To _our_ chief !''

''A great chief, just like his father !''

Hiccup was starting to get dizzy as a group was throwing him in the air to catch him back, carrying him in triumph.

''Okay, guys ! Now I'm just getting sick ! Okay, hahaha…''

They accepted to let him go, going back to the party. Vikings were drinking, playing music, some of them dancing, all of them celebrating. Gobber spotted Hiccup stagger with a pale face, which amused him.

He got up from his seat and left his conversation, his missing hand had been replaced by a pint.

''Gods say, I thought you were lay off your mind but this spot ain't half bad.''

''This was supposed to be a temporary solution.''

''It's unanimous !'' Eret called out before joining them, a roisted sheep leg in his hand. ''Everyone agrees we've definitively tried it up !''

He then hit him in the arm.

''Well done, chief !''

Then he left after greeting them both. Hiccup sighed and made his way out of there, loosing Gobber in the process. He was not really in the mood for celebration, he wasn't even hungry actually. Two reasons enough for not joining the festivities.

Yet, he stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar laugh. He didn't need to look at the person to know who it was, the butterflies in his stomach were enough to say it, but still he wanted to see this face. When he finally spotted Joke, the young man was sitting at the same table as the other riders, between Astrid and Fishlegs who was, once again, taking care of Fishmeat.

Once again, Hiccup noticed how much food his husband had put in his plate. Joke had never been quite a starved before, he used to need only few food to restaure his endless energy, but he had been eating more for a little while, now. Hiccup thought it was linked to his morning sickness.

After the agitated night with the Furies, and to make such he could get enough rest, Hiccup had insisted for Joke to oversleep that day. He still had called for Goathi so she could check out the white-haired young man. As Joke had told him, she already knew about his condition, explaining why the former-healer couldn't do anymore than she had already did. She had gave him a herbal tea to help him relax and had left.

Joke had slept more than needed, missing breakfast and even lunch, only eating the small collation Hiccup had found time to get him. So, actually, it was not that surprising he was eating so much for the diner. Hiccup smiled about it, amused, then his attention got caught by a scream. He instantly ran to the tents and found Gobber pointing to a group of Hopgobblers.

The dragons were now a large number, about fourteen, and all of them were looking intently at the black-smith.

''Where do they keep coming from ?! Those bloody Hopgobblers, I swear they're popping up faster than rabbits. I think they want to eat me, evidence would suggest I'm tasty.''

Saying this, the black-smith showed off his missing limbs, but he reeled and nearly fell. Only Hiccup helped him avoid a collision to the ground. He pulled the tick arm of Gobber over his shoulders, hoping he would have enough strength to carrry the man, and hold back a laugh.

''Okay Gobber, I think you drank enough for tonight. Let's get you back to your tent.''

''Nah, I'm fine ! I could party all night long !''

Hiccup shook his head in amusement when the black-smith pulled back his arm and stagged again. He tried again to walk him home, but Tuffnut suddenly irrupted.

''Hicky, a moment ?''

He had just opened his mouth and grabbed Hiccup's shoulder the young chief already felt drained of all self-confidence.

''Listen, I've been, huh… watching you walk. Loose the limp, no one's gonna make a baby to that.''

''I have a prosthetic leg !'' Hiccup protested with scandal and no more patience.

''So am I !'' Gobber added.

''Yeah, and I have a parasitic twin, but you ain't see me limping around about it !''

Hiccup sighed and rolled his eyes, he tried to escape but Tuffnut followed him.

''Come on, chin up, Hicky. Puff out that chest, move that butt to the left a little bit.''

When he added gestures to his words, Hiccup tried to push away his hands, not to avail. Sometimes, Tuffnut could be as deaf as Saplog the Deaf himself.

The hurried path of a dragon in the sky caught their attention and served as an excuse for Hiccup to run away. He rushed back to the party as it got interrupted by Fiery's crash. Joke was the first to reach him, just before Hiccup, finding Elska making sure her dragon wasn't hurt.

It didn't seem so, but Fiery was exausted. Joke ran to his mother.

''Mom, you okay ?! What happened ?''

''I don't know how, but Kosmozis is tracking us.''

She removed her dragon-scale helmet and circled her dragon to check him out, priorities in order, as always for her.

She then looked worriedly to Hiccup, who looked behind him to see Astrid, Eret and Gobber who was going even more nuts by his drunken state.

''Thats is all the cause of the Hopgobblers !''

After making sure Fiery was fine, Elska turned back to them to explain what she had seen.

''He has a hundred ships, maybe more, with enough cages for all our dragons. Hiccup, those are the ships form the Slaughterhouse.''

''But w-why would Kosmozis ally to them ?'' Joke asked. ''I thought he wanted the dragons for his own army.''

''Building a dragon army had ever served to only one goal for him : overtake me. That's why he used to pay trappers to bring him more dragons. After his defeat on Berk, three years ago, he dispappeared, I thought he had stopped, but the trappers didn't. According to what I saw, they have their own army, trapped in cages. I don't know what they want but it looked like they were following Kosmozis as a leader.''

''Okay, but what would the General join them if he somehow respect the dragons ?'' Astrid interrupted.

Hiccup thought about it, remembering what the General had told him in his house, and what had been said three years prior.

''He said he wanted to finish the job he thought had been done.''

All stares came back on him, while his face was getting disturded in worry.

''Kosmozis had vowed to kill every last member of the Storm family, to kill Elska and Joke. I think he thought he had done it when he killed… Dad, but the rumors about our missions had told him Joke had survived. I suppose he assumes that the end justifies the means.''

The young chief's guilty, though he had not expressed it with words, was clear in his voice. Joke tried to reassure him with a hand on his shoulder, but Hiccup still felt bad.

''It's my fault, we should have been more careful.''

''You couldn't know about it-''

''I should have anticipate ! A chief protects his own, remember ?''

''And you do it very well.'' Joke insisted with so much determination it silented the chief. ''That's why you made us leave Berk. I had doubts about this in the beginning, but look where you led us. This island is a real fortress, we can only reach it with wings, it's perfect against our enemies and for our allies.''

Hearing this, Hiccup felt torn inbetween two differents emotions. On one hand, he was relieved and happy his husband was finally agreeing on the exodus. On the other hand, he remained worried about Kosmozis.

The General was not going to give up, he was determined to kill the two last Storm, even if Hiccup still didn't know why. What had this family done to him, exactly ? He didn't know, but still he couldn't let the General reach his goal.

''If Kosmozis is leading them here, we have to take him out of the mass.''

''Huh… And how do we do that ?'' Tuffnut asked.

''By going there to capture him.''

''Capture him ?'' Gobber asked, not convinced by the idea.

Silence remained around them, until Tuffnut rose his arms, yelling.

''I'm with him, who else ?!''

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Kosmozis was quietly settled in his temporary base, settled on a rock the fleet had stopped by. While all the trappers were onboar of their ships, sleeping there, he was occupying an old tower in ruins, filling jars with the purple venom of the Deathgrippers.

He was oblivious of the group of dragons heading to his position. Hiccup had insisted Joke and Elska to not come with them, since they were Kosmozis target it was safer for them to stay on New Berk. Obviously, Joke had protested, not allowing Hiccup to go there without him, but Hiccup was still as stubborn as usual, he couldn't take the risk.

Both young men could be such pigheaded when it came to the other's safety. Yet, after the argument, Hiccup ended up convincing his husband, assuring him he couldn't focus on the mission if he had to worry for him. Hiccup tried to convinced Elska too, yet she was the only one to know where the fleet was, so she had to come to guide them.

The only thing that reassured Hiccup about her was the hope Kosmozis would not recognize her since she had adopted the dragon-scale armor like the other riders.

Once they spotted the ruined tower with Kosmozis flying platform landed on top of it, Elska explaining them it was Kosmozis' base, Hiccup split from the rest of the group, flying with his leather wings to go ahead and make sure they were alone, his slim frame more discreet than a Night Fury's.

They landed on the rock, none of the sleeping ships saw them, then they entered the barely lighten tower. Kosmozis was busy readying venom darts, while the Deathgrippers felt new presences, they growled and let out their retractables tunks. Kosmozis, as calm as usual, snapped at them to send them to attack, not at all bothered nore worried by the events.

They came down in the bottom of the tower, drown in darkness, roaming there like dreadful shadows. To sneak in more discreetly, the dragon riders left their winged friends outside, who would be their reinforcements in case of necessity. After a Deathgripper had come pass them without noticing them, the riders consult each other behind rocks.

''Okay, split up, we'll be harder to catch.'' Snotlout said.

No one reacted to him, until Eret spoke.

''I was thinking we should split up. Just because.''

''I like your instincts.'' Elska whispered.

They instantly split up, while Snotlout just stayed there, shocked.

''What is this ?''

Hiccup and Astrid went ahead and started to climb the stairs in the middle of the tower. Astrid used peebles to attract the Deathgrippers away from them, while the others were sneaking in, making as less noise as possible. Well, almost everyone. Tuffnut couldn't help but clown around, making huge gesture to taunt a Deathgripper who was watching elsewhere. Fortunately, his twin sister pulled him back to hiding before he could be seen.

Hiccup climbed the stairs in silence and reached the only lighten up room. He entered cautiously, then light up Inferno as he noticed his enemy was not where he should have been.

Then they all heard a noise echoing in the whole tower, chains that were pulled. The roof instantly closed, covered in a trap made of chains, and other chains fell from all the walls to block out any exit. Hiccup climbed down the stairs in panic, then spotted Kosmozis on the other side of the chains, a lanthern in hands.

''Nice of you to visit me, chief.''

Hiccup stood and pulled back his helmet over his head, unveiling his face. His voice was more hearable like this.

''First rule in battle : separate the leader from the troups. You've just removed yourself from the equation.''

''Why are you doing this ?'' Hiccup asked.

''Really ? I didn't think you cared.''

The General smiled and started to pace, hands in his back.

''Well, unlike you, I grew up surrounded by dragons. Since my sweetest childhood, I protected them and respected them, I was looking after them.''

He chuckled a bit, adding suspence to his tale, unerving the young chief in the process. Hiccup so hated this man being so calm over any circumstances, it looked like he didn't care about anything.

''Yet, I was not like the rest of my clan. I wasn't thinking like them, particularly concerning the royal family. Everyone worshipped them, but I was the only one to see them as they really were : monsters. Sickening creatures, inbetween two different worlds, corrupting both men and dragons. They were no part of either world, they were demons.''

Hiccup suddenly felt filled of never-seen-before-hatred. Even when he had lost his father, he had never been as angry as he was now. How dare Kosmozis speak like this about Joke and Elska ? Hiccup may not know the former-queen for longer than three years, but he had plenty of time to see how caring and devoted of a woman she was.

She used to help people around her, she was getting along with everyone. Even if she had been a queen, she was getting involved with the people and could do the dirty jobs if that could help. And the way she was taking care of the dragons, and how she could spend hours listening to the vikings' troubles to advice them… She was caring for everyone, without asking anything in exchange, just because she liked to help people.

As for Joke, Hiccup never ceased to repeat himself how many things were incredible in this young man. He owed him so much, starting with his friendship when no one wanted to get involved with him, when he was nothing more than a talking fishbone, when he was Hiccup the Useless.

Joke and Elska were definitively not demons nore monsters. Calling them like this just because of their mixed-dragon-blood was missing all the truly important features. But Kosmozis didn't care about this, he could only see they were part human, part dragon, he could only see the strange link they had with the winged creatures. He found this link alienating and oppressing while Hiccup and his friends had never seen anything but respect and kindness in it.

''I had always considered the dragons were better than men. They are capable of helping unknown people without asking anything in return, while our specie is always interested and selfish. The story of Karan the Tracker and the ice-dragon-queen is just another proof of it. A dragon queen, by respect for an enemy who had spent his life killing her people, sacrificed herself to save him. I saw a lot of other sacrifices like this one during the slaughter of Haze, but do you know what didn't happen there ? Humans sacrificing to save dragons. It never happened. That's when I realized : we don't deserve them.''

Hiccup suddenly felt like he was facing another person as a tear rolled down the General's cheek. His face changes as his look became dreamy.

''I have a vision, Hiccup, a vision of a world where the dragons could live in peace, far away from humans, far away from their greed and their thirst of blood. And I'm determined to make it real, but first I have to get this world rid of such the Storms' scourge. To protect men and dragons.''

Hiccup frowned even more. He couldn't understand why he had not killed this man. Said man smirked, keeping his calm. Why was he always so calm ?! Wasn't he worried about anything ? One thing for sure, he seemed pretty talkative, so that was the perfect occasion for Hiccup to make him spill out all his secrets.

''That's why you allied to the Slaugtherhouse ? You're pretending wanting to protect dragons, but you recruit their worst enemies and help them capture and kill dragons.''

The General surprised him again as he laughed.

''Hiccup, Hiccup… I am the Slaughterhouse. In a world like our own, saving dragons catch attention and give your enemies, so I made profit of it. Any place where the dragons are in danger, people threatening them call me to get rid of them. They give me every single of the dragons by themselves. I'm simply using their fear against them and get back all th dragons to lead them to safety. To make it simple, I do the same thing as your dragon riders and you, but I do it in a smarter and more discreet way.''

A new laugh ended up this explanation, but Hiccup still had troubles buying it. It seemed logical according to Kosmozis' mentality, his respect for the dragon and his manipulating demeanor, but it still felt twisted. The General seemed convinced humans couldn't change.

''You know, Hiccup, I have to admit I respect you. Bringing peace between vikings and dragons, alone, and so young… That's impressive. I could have let you live, but since you allied to the Storms, you're corrupted.''

''I'm not corrupted, and Joke's not a monster. He has done so much for our clan, more than anyone else.''

''Oh, I see.'' The general snickered.

He opened his arms to gesture at their surroundings, he seemed pleased.

''And where is he, now ?''

Hiccup froze without controlling it, worry still written in his heart. He had refused to admit it, but the real reason why he had not let Joke come with them was not because he was a target – he knew Joke could handle himself – actually it was because of his health.

As long as they didn't know what was his sickness, Hiccup wouldn't take any risk. His pause didn't say anything about his thoughts, but it still amused Kosmozis.

''He let you down, didn't he ? The… great benefactor of Berk had turned his back on you like a coward. Surely he didn't want to put his life in danger since I almost killed him-''

''Don't you talk about things you don't know about.''

The man in black laughed even more.

''Don't worry, you won't be there to watch me slain him.''

Kosmozis laughed again and walked to the chains so he could interact with the Deathgripper there. He pulled on its tunk to get it closer and grabbed its crest, unveiling a strange contraption in it. There were translucent vials there, maintained in the dragon's flesh by a harness, purring in its body the same purple liquid than the dart Hiccup and Tuffnut had found in the woods.

''What have you done to these dragons ?'' The young chief rebuked him.

''Oh, that ? I simply thought about our last encounter. After your dragon defeated my Sentinel and stole her Alpha title, I had to find a way to keep my dragons fatithful to me. And these little wonders gave me the answer. I drug them into obedience with their own venom. Not even your fierce Alpha could control them. Not even my prince could reason them. They serve me, and only me. Allow me to demonstrate.''

Without leaving them the opportunity to answer, he whistled, launching the dragons to attack. Hiccup was the first to react.

''Take cover !'' He shouted.

His friends did so while the Deathgrippers attacked. One of them spat acid on the ground, it caught fire instantly without needing a single spark.

''Split up !'' Astrid shouted.

One of the dragons heard her and pursued her, she used the wall-chains to climb and escape the flames. The second dragon went after Hiccup in the stairs, burning it to ashes just behind him, way too close. When the stairs collasped, Hiccup grabbed a chain and hung to it, trying to swing so he could reach the beams that were supporting the room, circling it, where his friends had climbed for safety.

But the dragons were following them there, the riders kept on climbing, trying to escape, until they reached the roof. The stone ceiling had been in ruins before they visit it but the chains were blocking it out. Elska made use of it and pass her spear between the chains, swirling it to call out Fiery, while holding her other hand towards Snotlout who was just behind her, so she could help him up.

When the Guardian arrived, followed by the other dragons, he grabbed the chains and hoisted the whole net. He was stronger than what the trap was supposed to bare, creating a path for the riders. Snotlout, Eret and the twins were the first to get out and leave. Astrid and Fishlegs followed while Hiccup was still runing away from his pursuer. Once he got out too, Fiery dropped the chain-net, blocking the Deathgrippers and efficiently stopping them from following them.

The group of dragons flew away for safely, despite the fire that had alerted the fleet, they were too high in the sky to be reachable by their weapons. As they were getting even higher, Fishlegs spotted a tall silhouette flying straigth to them, and beamed while rising his fists to the sky.

''Yeah ! Our heroe !''

He had just recognized the Crimson Goregutter, who flew to the tower to smash into it. All of them saw the structure collapsing in a pile of rocks and burnt stone, but they also saw the flying platform of Kosmozis getting pulled away by the dragons still strapped to it.

The Deathgrippers didn't followed them and quietly landed on the border of the small isle, while a silhouette came out it, unharmed. Kosmozis frowned seeing the dragons getting away. He had just lost a huge among of Deathgrippers' venom, but he wasn't done yet. Actually, he smirked.

''Rejoy, my little friends, while you can.''

* * *

That's it for this chapter, now we know more about the motivations of Kosmozis. What do you think of it ? Don't hesitate to debate on it in the reviews or in PM, I'd like to have opinions about it.


	9. Failed mission

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Failed mission**

The dragon riders came back in a shy dawn, the campement was drown in mist and chilly air. The dragons landed near the camp and were welcomed by a few vikings, including Gobber. All understood they were empty-handed.

''Thor almighty ! Guess we won't be needing this, then.'' He gestured to the cage he had crafted during the night.

Hiccup removed his helmet and sighed heavily, tired and thoughtful about what had happened.

''He was waiting for us. I led us right into his trap.''

''Yeah, nice work, chief.'' Tuffnut grumbled. ''Right, Ruff ?''

''Nice job, duh.'' She retorted.

''So what do we do, now ?'' Snotlout grunted, visibly out of patience.

Hiccup shook his head and tried to clear his mind. He sighed heavily, anguish taking control over him, fed by Kosmozis' voice ringing in his head. His heart was racing like crazy and even his voice started to tremble.

''I-I'll figure out, I just need a little time.''

He then walked away, leaving the group on spot. All of them looked at him, some with impatience, others with annoyment, others with worry.

Toothless followed him, bouncing next to him, trying to cheer him up, not to avail. Hiccup even made him a gesture to stop him. He dropped his helmet and kept on walking away, leaving his dragon concerned and confused, whining. Astrid felt bad for him, and she could picture what he was thinking. If they had obtain the proof Kosmozis was not going to do any harm to their dragons, they also were now certain he was never going to give up killing Joke. And now they finally knew why : just because he thought Elska and him were something not natural. He wasn't going to give up, nore could he be reasoned.

Thinking about her little brother, Astrid noticed he wasn't there. With all the protests he had made before their leaving, she was expecting him to be the first to welcome them back, even to have waited them here all along.

''Where is Joke ?'' She asked with concern.

She turned to the villagers, but didn't like the expressions on their face.

Several seemed troubled, some lowered their heads and others even averted their eyes from her. She faced them and clenched her fists, suddenly worried, she was about to repeat her question, yelling, when Gobber answered it.

''Arf, we got him to Goathi's. He collasped this morning.''

''What ?!''

The young woman's shout was so loud it made the black-smith jump, his helmet falling from his head. Without hesitation, without waiting for further explanations, she ran towards the camp, closely followed by Elska.

Hiccup was drowning deeper and deeper into his thoughts, thinking about a way to stop Kosmozis. The man had a fleet with him, and these dragons they knew nothing about. All that they knew was that they were drugged to obedience, to the extend even the Alpha's call couldn't reach them.

They knew not enough about this foe, they didn't know if Kosmozis had other ressources, and it made a sickening anguish spread in Hiccup's mind and body : could he really protect Joke and Elska from this man ?

As he was starting to tear off his hair, Elska and Astrid rushed pass him, panicked. He worried about this, and even more so when Astrid called him out over her shoulder.

''Joke collapsed, Hiccup, hurry !''

Hearing this, the young viking chief followed them. He had troubles to run as fast as them because of his peg leg, but it didn't stopped him from getting to the former-healer's hutt.

Astrid stormed in, opening the tent, scaring off the Terrible Terrors, three of them flying off from the exit. The young woman stiffened as she met Goathi's death glare, then she saw her little brother on the bed. He had a wet towel on his forehead and seemed to be asleep, or unconscious. She walked to the elder and asked what happened. Goathi was making signs to her so she would quiet down when Elska and Hiccup rushed in too, scaring again the small dragons and creating new commotion.

As the former-healer feared, all the noise woke up her patient. They heard him grumble and saw him move in the corner of their eye. Hiccup was the first one to get to the bed, kneeling there and catching the hand Joke was rising – surely towards his head that seemed heavy and painful. Joke started when he felt warm hands grabbing his, dropping the wet tissue from his face, but calmed down as he recognized his husband bent next to him.

''Hey, you guys are back…'' He said with a weak smile.

''Yes, but you…'' Hiccup rejoined, unable to hold back his worry. ''What happened to you ? They said you collapsed or… I don't know…''

Joke blinked in confusion and stared around him, taking in where he was. He met the eyes of Goathi, Astrid and his mother, the three seemed concerned.

''Huh, I don't know… I was going to see Lumi and the eggs, and suddenly I had a stomach ache and felt dizzy. I don't know what happened next, I must have fainted.''

''Overstrain.'' Elska said, reading Goathi's scribbles on the ground.

Hiccup couldn't buy it. Himself had happened to be overstrained, mostly during his first year as chief, but not to the extend of fainting. Was Joke that busy ? He had not so many things to take care of… He was the new healer of the clan but didn't have all the patients since vikings were still going to Goathi first, by habit, he was assisting his mother in taking care of the dragons, keeping an eye on the Night Lights and Lumiverse's eggs…

Suddenly things clikced in his mind. Dragons were really turbulents, always hurting themselves and others for tiny things, Elska and Joke were constantly seeing new ones coming to the shed, and they were so many on the island… Plus the vikings coming to get Joke's healing treatments… Of course it was a lot of work, no doubt enough to get him sick.

However, Elska didn't seemed convinced. She frowned while watching her son, then walked to the bed, sitting on the left side while Hiccup was on the right. She gently ran a hand in his snowy hair, feeling his fever and noticing his pale face. She waryly stroked his hair, as if he was a sand sculpture that could crumble if it was touched.

''Sweetheart, can you describe me how you feel, exactly ?''

Joke nodded and did so. Hiccup listened intently to his husband describing his symptoms. He was feeling tired all the time, he was more hungry, he had these headaches in the morning and vomitted sometimes but was getting better during the day, he also had some stomach ache and sudden dizziness. Hiccup got startled as he learnt that Goathi was actually following Joke for four months about this problem.

Hearing this, he frowned and shook his head with disbelief. When he took again Joke's hand, his grip was so strong it made the young man start. Hiccup didn't care for the conversation he was interrupting.

''But why didn't you tell me about this earlier ?'' He blamed more than he asked.

''I… You had already so much to worry about, Hic, I didn't want to add more to the pile.''

The young chief dropped his head against their intertwinned hands, grimacing as he was holding back an internal scream. Gods, why was Joke always thinking about others before himself ? Why was he always thinking about Hiccup before himself ? Constantly, Joke was supporting him in his stressful and overbooked chief daily routine, helping him to relax in the evening, helping him to think about something else, sometimes he even completed tasks in his stead so he had less things to do, but Joke was bearing this sickness on his own… for four months… to not bother him ?

Gods, Joke was not possible…

''You can't be serious…'' Hiccup sighed. ''Gods, Joke, your health is way more important than my chief duties.''

''I'm sorry…''

Hiccup lifted his head to look at his husband, seeing on his face how regretful he truly was, which made him even more guilty. He sighed again and got up to hug him. Nuzzling his white hair, he let out his guilt.

''No, _I_ am sorry. I should have noticed something was wrong.''

Joke didn't reply but buried his face on the crook of his husband's neck, his breath tickling the freckled viking. They stayed like this for a moment, until Elska stepped in. She helped Hiccup laying Joke back in bed, then she lifted the furs on him. She did the same with his tunic, unveiling his pale belly. Hiccup noticed it was a bit plump, surely eating so much for the last months had added some fat to his slim frame.

''I'll get a look at you, okay ?'' She asked.

Joke pinced his lips to try and smile, then nodded, before resting his head back on the pillow. Hiccup watched his mother-in-law feel his lover's belly.

''You said it's been four months since the beginning of the symptoms ?'' She asked her son.

Joke only nodded in reply, slightly squinting his eyes.

''Do you know what it is ?'' Hiccup enquired.

''I think so.'' She rejoined, lifting her eyes upward so she could focus on her touch.

The young chief got puzzled by the way she was inspecting her son, waryly pressing her fingers in different spots, as if she knew what she was doing, as if she was searching for something in particular. The more she was handling him, the more he was grimacing. That seemed pretty uncomfortable for him.

''There is this specificity of the Storm family I haven't told you yet, because I didn't really had the opportunity to come to the question. We don't really have an explanation for this, but our most likely hypothesis is that the Alpha who gave his heart to our ancestor was actually a she-''

Suddenly, as she pressed Joke's belly in the lower part of the left side, he jolted up, unable to hold back a cry of pain. Hiccup worried about it and helped him lay back, quizzical by Elska's reaction. Her whole face lit up and she even smiled. She put back Joke's tunic over his stomach and the furs on him, then rested her hand on the one Hiccup was not holding.

''In our family, both women _and_ men can become a life-bearer.''

''What ?'' Joke started.

As Astrid and Hiccup froze in surprise, Elska stroked her son's hair again.

''Sweetheart, you're pregnant.''

* * *

Ta-ta-tadah, surprise !

I really hope people who don't like M-preg won't hate me for this, but I really wanted to keep it a surprise 'till the last moment, that's why I didn't warn you in the summary.  
So now they know what is making Joke sick, what will be Hiccup's reaction ? Find out tomorrow in the next chapter :)


	10. What is at stake

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**What is at stake**

Saying the new had completely shook him upside down was far from the truth. Hiccup couldn't manage to stay anything and stormed off the tent. His mind was so troubled he didn't even hear Joke desperatly calling out his name. When the tent closed behind the auburn-haired viking, a tear rolled down the pale cheek.

Joke dropped back into the bed, unable to breathe. Why had Hiccup left like this ? Did he just let him down ? Had he been afraid by the news ? Had he changed his mind about him ? Did he think he was something unnatural ? That he was abominable ? A mistake ? Had his lover, his long-last best friend, his husband, his partner, really turned his back on him, just because he was bearing the fruit of their love inside of him… ?

A sob broke down his throat and finally allowed him to move, clasping his hands on his mouth as his eyes were now overflown in tears. Astrid clenched her fists and instantly went out too, Joke swore he heard her say something to him, but he couldn't understand what. He downed in an abyss, his heart shattering in a million pieces, his vision getting blurry and his skin getting burnt by the salt of his tears, he barely felt his mother's arms wrapping around him to try and comfort him.

He loved his mother, but it was not her arms he needed, he wanted Hiccup's.

Berk's young chief had fled from the tent, drowning in tumultuous thoughts. For the moment he had realised his feelings for Joke, another man, a part of his mind had known he would never have children. Not that he had really thought about it before, he was so young back then. If he had ever thought about it, it was regarding his father Stoick, whom he known would have been sad not having grand-children.

Hiccup had never really thought about it before Gobber talked about the legacy of the throne. In his mind, the young viking had convinced himself he would never have children, he got so used to the idea it didn't bothered him anymore, nore made him sad.

Gobber's remarks about the throne had only concerned him regarding the legacy and the clan's future, though he had solved this problem with the proposition he had made to Astrid.

Hiccup thought he would never have children, and it was fine since he had Joke, whom he loved with everything he had, he didn't need anyone more by his side, this love was enough to fulfill him.

However Joke, with his dragon blood, baffingly, was a life-bearer even if he was a man. Was it possible ? Was he bearing a child ?_ Their_ child ?

Hiccup was completely upside, overwhelmed. Never before did he had thought he'd be a dad, and certainly not that soon, he wasn't ready ! And it wasn't even his biggest problem : Kosmozis was still there, aiming to kill any last member of the Storm family : Elska, Joke… and their child.

The former general of Haze was no more threatening only his mother-in-law and his husband, but his whole family ! Hiccup refused to put Joke's life at risk, but their future… There was no way it was happening, this was getting imperative to stop that man.

He had already tried to reason him, but Kosmozis wasn't doing this for revenge or power, he was convinced the Storms were abomination, inbetween worlds creature he had to exterminate. The only way to stop him Hiccup could think about was killing him.

But how could he do that ? He had to separate Kosmozis from his ressources, from the trappers _and_ his dragons. The dragons were the biggest problem : Kosmozis was controlling them, not like an Alpha would do, but in a way Toothless couldn't reach them.

How were they supposed to get rid of these creatures without harming them ? They were a dragon specie they had never encountered before, the only thing they knew about them was that the drug Kosmozis was using on them was their own venom. The harness were put on their head, but to get them rid of it they had to get closer to them.

Plus, beat Kosmozis would not solve their other issue : nothing could garantee Kosmozis' death would stop the Slaughterhouse activities.

As Hiccup was diving deeper and deeper in his stormy thoughts and his reflexion leading him to nowhere, Astrid caught up with him and punched him in the shoulder with more strength and violence she had ever shown before. This time, she was aiming to hurt him.

He jumped and let out a surprised cry before facing her. He didn't want to admit she had scared him by popping out of nowhere, yet she did.

''What are you doing ?'' She growled.

''What ? I'm thinking ! Why are you attacking me ?!'' He protested with annoyment and anger.

''Why, do you think ?''

''I don't know !''

''Come on !''

''You, come on ! Why do you always have to be so harsh ?!''

He kept on getting angry, which unerved the blond young woman even more. She clenched her fist, ready to punch him even harder, but he rose his hands to stop her and spoke even louder.

''Astrid, I don't have time for this, this is serious-''

''Oh yes it is, and you don't seem to understand how much !''

''Oh, really ?!''

Astrid was trying all her might not to beat the shit out of him and drag him back to Goathi's tent so he would apologize to Joke for leaving like this, so he would support him as a husband was supposed to. However, she got surprised by his face : never before did she had saw him so angered and troubled. His hands flew in the air, making crazy gesture matching his choler.

''Do you really think I don't understand ? Kosmozis is on his way with an armada and a bunch of dragons we have never heard from before and we don't know how to fight them ! It's just a matter of time before they reach us, I have to find a way to stop him before he hurts my family, Astrid !''

The young woman froze in spot as a tear rolled down her chief's cheek. He grabbed his hair while grimacing, trying to hold back further tears.

''I already lost my father, Astrid, I can't risk loosing Joke too, especially not now.''

''Hiccup-''

''No, don't you see ?! If I can't stop Kosmozis, I'll loose both Joke and the baby ! I could never meet my own child ! And what would I have left if I loose them ?''

This time, he shed all the tears, and his hurtful gaze was like a dagger in Astrid's heart.

''Nothing. Nothing at all.'' He said with finality before leaving.

Astrid couldn't follow him, she was still frozen, looking at him and feeling tears streaming in her own eyes.

She didn't even realised she had hold her breath. She had yelled at him, punched him, thinking he had let down her brother, but actually it was the opposite.

He was not resenting this surprising pregnancy, he was trying to protect it. Astrid felt bad for misjudging him, and let the guilt take the best of her, before Elska joined her, patting her shoulder. The former queen was looking at the retreating chief, who was still wroth.

He was still grabbing his hair, dragging his feet and kicking peebles on his way, lamenting and trying to figure something out. Elska and Astrid looked at him in silence, the young viking had no doubt the former queen had heard their conversation.

''He thinks he has to lead alone, because his father had to. He doesn't realise how strong you all are together.'' Elska said.

Astrid felt her guilt increasing. She had spent the last three years counting on Hiccup as a chief, not really thinking about how he was feeling.

While the village had lost a chief and gained another one, he had lost his father. But he barely had the time to cope as everyone was counting on him to help them rebuild. However, now she noticed now how hard it was on him.

''Do you still believe in him ?'' Elska asked.

''Of course I do, he's the smartest and most stubborn of us all. He'll figure something out. He always does. I just wish he believed it, too.''

Elska didn't reply, she didn't know what to say actually. She just patted her almost-daughter on the shoulder, in try to comfort her. Astrid sniffed and turned back.

''I'm going back to Joke.''

The way to Goathi's tent seemed too long for her. The former-healer was still there, trying to give a cup of soup to Joke, but the young man was ignoring her, curled on the bed. Astrid got a heartache as she saw his shoulders shaking and as she heard his sobs. She walked to the bed and pushed the arm he was using to hide his face. His eyes and nose were red, his cheeks strained of tears.

''Oh, Joke...''

''Leave me alone, As', I don't wanna talk...''

He pulled back his arm and put it back on his face, while his sister noticed how the other arm was curled on his belly.

She sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around him, trying to comfort him, but it seemed to only increase his sobs.

''He left me…'' Joke wailed, his voice muffled in the pillow and his arm.

''No Joke, he didn't. He's just worried for you… Terribly worried. He's frightened.''

She stroked his head and kissed his hair before straightening up, drawing circles on his back.

''I just talked to him. He's afraid Kosmozis could hurt you. He's trying to find a way to stop him. He didn't let you down, Joke, he just wants to protect you, and the baby. He told me so himself.''

''He… He told you so… ?''

Astrid felt hope when his head popped out of his arm, looking at her expectantly. She kept on stroking his back and smiled.

''Yes, he did. He loves you Joke, never doubt that, and he accepts the baby.''

The young man let out a new sob and pinched his lips while new tears escaped his eyes, these ones from relief.

''I thought I lost him…''

''No you didn't.'' She assured while hugging him again. ''But this is what he's afraid of.''

Toothless and Lumiverse were both quietly laying under a tree near the camp, surounded by their three hatchlings and watching over their eggs. The Night Lights were still as playful and energic as usual, excited to know they soon would have two more siblings to play with.

Toothless still had troubles to make them obey, while Lumiverse only needed a glare to stop them from pushing the eggs. When Hiccup neared them, the two adults' ears popped up their head, then Toothless rushed to him, welcoming him and bouncing all around him.

It managed to draw a shy smile on the viking's face, then he stroked his dragon and best friend before sitting next to Lumiverse. She cooed to him while the three Night Lights tried to play with him. Duskstorm settled on his knees, Daylight chewed on his peg leg and Midnight jumped on his shoulders, almost making him fall. Lumiverse growled, efficiently chasing them away, then rubbed her head against Hiccup's arms, seemingly as an apology.

He smiled and stroked her head in thanks, she shook it then tightened her paws around the incubator. Hiccup glanced at the eggs. Several days had pass since they had been laid, and they had been kept warm all the time, it would not take long before they would hatch. This could have made him happy, but he felt a pinch to the heart as it made him think about his own in-coming child.

Toothless and Lumiverse were soon to meet their babies, but the viking may not have this chance. Both Furies noticed his troubles and worried about it. Lumiverse whined while Toothless nuzzled his rider in the arm, his eyes full of concern. Hiccup sighed and dropped any joy from his face, slowly putting a hand on his best friend's snout.

''I don't know what to do, bud. I don't know how to protect them…''

The dragon squealed and rubbed his head against his chest, unable to speak to cheer him up, but still giving him some warmth. Hiccup embraced it and thanked the Furies to try and comfort him.


	11. Two days later

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 11  
****Two days later**

Two days later, Hiccup felt it had been weeks as so many things had happened. He had been rushing here and there, keeping an eye of the building of the village – the vikings seemed really found of this idea to make the New Berk there – he had solved many arguments as several vikings were fighting over a specific spot, he had also been plagued with so many questions about Kosmozis and Joke's pregnancy.

The Hairy Hooligans were quite the gossiping, once something happened in the village everyone knew about it within the day, or the following day if the secret was lucky.

Joke was feeling better. Now that Goathi and him knew what had caused the symptoms, they knew how to handle it, especially with Elska's help. But once he got out of the former-healer's tent, he had been swarmed by curious vikings, asking details about his condition. Luckily, Astrid and Gobber had come to the rescue, becoming bodyguards for him.

Their friends also came to see him. Fishlegs was as excited as if Meatlug had laid another egg. The twins made fun of him, Tuffnut talking about a strange spirited-guide story that was not going to be any of use, Ruffnut telling him he was going to ail. Snotlout, for his part, didn't believe it and didn't try to hide he found this pretty weird, but he ate humble pie when Astrid's fists threaten him.

After that, the fierce young woman walked her brother to visit the Furies, which allowed him to understand Lumiverse had known for a while about his condition. Now, he understood why she had gotten this mania to sniff his belly and purr without evident reason. Just like Hiccup, he noticed the eggs were nearing their term, and beamed about it.

He couldn't wait to see the new Night Lights and began to think about their names. He shared his ideas to Astrid, who made some propositions too. They had a lot of ideas, some of them simple, others more like the viking tradition. Night, Death-Night, Bad-Omen, Dark-Omen, Augury, Darklight, Midlight, Dawn, Twilight, Twinight… They had plenty ideas.

As Joke was adding more names to the list, his voice seeming to lull the Night Lights to sleep, Astrid let her thoughts wander and looked at her brother's belly. His tunic may be tight and him on his fourth month of pregnancy, it was not visible. His belly was only slightly plump, like it would be for someone starting to get weight.

''And him ? Any ideas ?'' She asked.

Joke hesitated and looked at her, not sure about which dragon she was talking about. He then saw where she was looking at, and did the same before putting a hand on his belly.

''I didn't think about it yet… I still can't get used to it.''

''I understand.'' She smiled, softly patting his back. ''It's a surprise for everyone. But, at least, it means Hiccup and you don't need plan B anymore.''

''Plan B ?''

Astrid laughed at his puzzled face, but with everything Hiccup had to deal with, she suspected he didn't had found the time to talk about it to Joke yet.

''Hiccup wanted my children to inherit the throne.''

Joke smiled.

''He couldn't have made a better choice.''

''But he doesn't need to, in the end.'' She laughed. ''It just would have been better we had noticed this sooner, that heirs story shook him pretty hard.''

''Yeah, don't tell me. Gobber almost drove him crazy with this.''

Both laughed about it, teasing about the black-smith lack of tact. They stayed with the Furies until night fell on Berk.

When Hiccup finally got back to his tent, he was exhausted. His day had been particularly long and busy, he had almost missed lunch, had nearly failed to visit the Furies in the early afternoon, and as he was calling it a day, he had been called out in the last minute to handle a fire put out by a Monstrous Nightmare, burning down to ashes two in-building houses.

Hiccup was completely exhausted, yet he forgot everything about his rough day as he looked at his bed, seeing someone laying on it. It didn't take long for him to recognize Joke, and that made him smile.

During the day, he had heard he was feeling better and had left Goathi's tent, but he didn't have the time to check it out. He felt as if it had been a forever since he last saw his husband, last time had been when the news of the pregnancy had fall. He had missed the white-haired young man.

He undressed from his leather equipment and took off his boot, getting closer as silently as he could since he didn't want to wake him up. He waited for the last minute to remove his peg leg and slowly slipped under the furs to lay next to his husband.

Joke was sleeping peacefully, laid on his back and his head slightly tilted towards the entrance, towards him. Hiccup contemplated him. With his closed eyes and a slow and soft breathing coming out of his parted lips, he seemed perfectly peaceful. The young chief had forgotten everything about his tiredness as he was watching such beauty. He couldn't tell how long he admired him like this, he could only say that, after a while, his gaze went downward.

Joke had pulled the fur to his chest and had his arms over it, his hands resting around his belly like a proptective cocoon. The young chief gazed a the tiny mass, feeling his heart racing without his control, and took the risk to move. He sat up, placed himself lower, next to his husband tights, waryly removed his arms and pulled down the fur. Then he gently placed his ear against the belly.

He didn't know if he could hear something, or feel something, but he still tried. He hold his breath but the only thing he felt was Joke jolt. He looked at him and met his blue eyes full of surprise.

''Hi… Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.''

''S'no probs.'' Joke rejoined with hesitation.

Hiccup could feel his husband was uneasy. He didn't had realised at first, but Astrid made him do so by punching him : the way he had left after hearing the news had been confusing, and deeply worried Joke. Hiccup felt bad for this and knew he had to apologize, if not make it up to his lover.

''I'm so sorry, babe, I should have never left like this, the other day. I just-''

''You were worried about Kosmozis. I know, Astrid told me.''

''I'm such a looser, I should have stayed with you, reassure you, instead of running away like a coward… I care so much for you, Joke, and this baby… it's a miracle, I couldn't bare it if something happened to you-''

''Hey…''

Joke put his hand on the viking's cheek, gently forcing him to look at him in the eye.

''That's not going to happen, and we'll find a way to get rid of that guy.''

Hiccup would have like to be sure of it, but they had no guarantee. He still forced a smile and sighed. Then he noticed his hand was resting on Joke's belly, stroking it lovingly.

This unconscious gesture surprised him, then draw a real smile on his face.

''Do you feel him ?'' He enquired.

''Not really, no.'' Joke shrugged. ''Mom says he would begin to move by next month.''

Hiccup didn't reply but smiled even more, letting his second hand stroking the blue tunic too. He remained like this for a moment, before leaning in to kiss the belly.

When he looked back up at his husband, he found on his face an expression he had never seen before. A mixture of joy, serenity and tenderness. Such a face made the viking's heart race faster, and filled him with the hurge to kiss him. He did so without hesitation, with delicacy and passion at the same time.

Joke smiled against his lips and kissed back, before letting him lay against him. Hiccup wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him with love but also cautiouness towards his belly, as if it was a fragile baby bird.

''Good night, my little family.'' Hiccup said, kissing him just behind the ear.

Joke chuckled and replied in a faint half-asleep whisper.

''Good night, love.''

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

The following days appeared almost like bliss for Hiccup as they were calmer. He had asked his friends and Gobber for some help so they would share his chieftain chores, which unabled him to free some time to think about Kosmozis' case, and also keeping company to Joke.

The young man had took back his job as healer, treating vikings and also helping Elska taking care of the dragons. He wanted to keep working while he could, and it gave him an excuse to keep the Furies next to him, he wanted to be there when the eggs would hatch. And he was there to see it, just like Hiccup.

The couple watched as their dragon friends were bustling about around the crackling eggs. The incubator as been designed to resist to and contain the exploding hatch, releasing the baby dragon afterward. The black one was the first to open, unveiling a small female Night Light that surprised them. She was completely black, even darker than Toothless, with a faint purple hue. Her eyes were a blue-mauve color that looked like Lumiverse, and her whole body was covered with tiny white sparks, just like stars in the sky, just like the ones on the Light Fury.

When she finished to break her egg and get out of it, she shook her back with energy before falling. Lumiverse gently nuzzled her before licking her tiny head, which made the small beast squeal. Well, small… New born Furies were still as big as adult Terrible Terror, which was quite big for a baby.

Toothless beamed and bounced while the three older Night Lights remained behind him, cautiously eyeing their new sister. She yawned and licked her lips before seeing them, then tilted her head on the side, before jumping as the second egg started to crack. It hatched faster and let out a very agitated male who seemed impatient to discover the world. If his sister had surprised Hiccup and Joke, this one did more so.

He gave the impression to be a failed mixture of his parents. The black seemed more like a dark grey, and he was covered with random white spots. On the side of his face, on his wings, on one leg but not the others, these spots were completely ramdom and from different sizes and shapes. It looked like someone had dropped paint on the dragon, or like the colors had bled at some point. It may look ridiculous, but actually – without playing with words – it wasn't staining his beauty and elegance. His eyes were a blue-green that was the perfect middle of Toothless and Midnight's eyes.

Hiccup and Joke remained sat next to each other, looking at the family getting larger, watching as the two new born were meeting their parents and siblings. Hiccup smiled even feeling his husband resting his head on his shoulder, he gladly wrapped his arm around him to keep him close.

''So, how are we gonna name these guys ?'' The chief asked.

''Astrid and I agreed on Nightfall.''

''Seems like a good idea, how about her ?''

Joke rose his head while looking at the black Night Light. She was facing Duskstorm, who was crouched on his front legs in a playful demeanor, shaking his tail back and forth. The new born dragon girl looked intently at the tail, then rose on her back legs in try to catch it, not to avail. Actually, she just needed to take one or two steps forward to catch it, but she was too young to understand that.

The white-haired young man thought about it for a moment. He liked the name Death-Night, but it seemed too violent for her, she was too beautiful to be deadly, even if they knew any Fury was deadly. Plus, he found this name because her egg was completely black, while she had all these stars on her skin. Looking at them, he was comparing them more and more to the canopy of heaven, and that gave him an idea.

''Nightsky.''

Hiccup smiled at it. Between Nightsky, Lumiverse, Midnight and Daylight, Joke really knew how to find poetic names that really suited the dragons.

''Yes, that sounds like her. You really know how to name a dragon.'' He agreed before kissing his forehead.

Joke snickered and stroked the side of Lumiverse, who looked at him before cooing.

''Good job, princess.''

Toothless grumbled and hit his head on his shoulder, asking congratulations and affection too as he had helped make the babies ! Joke laughed to this reaction and scratched him under the chin, the dragon's favorite spot, which made him purr and shake his back leg while hanging his tongue.

''Yeah, good job to you too, big bay boo.'' Joke teased.

The Night Lights let out tiny teasing sounds, then Nightfall suddenly opened his wings and took off before crashing right into Hiccup's lap. All got startled by this, this little guy surely couldn't wait to grow up. Hiccup gently put him back on his paws before Duskstorm landed on his head, quickly followed by Daylight who did the same on his shoulders. Since the viking was loosing his balance, he quickly gave the younger speckled Night Light to his husband, who barely had the time to take him before seeing his viking drop to the floor, overflown by the Night Lights games.

He guffawed at that, just like Hiccup and the adults Furies. The three elder Night Lights surely were little rascals, and seemingly Nightfall was going to be a troublemaker too. They could only hope for Nightsky to be calmer. If she was, maybe she could become the reason of the group.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Three weeks had elapsed and the trappers were still far from them, Elska, Astrid and Reekfrid were making sure of it, the riders giving falses hints to lead the fleet to the south. Life on New Berk was quiet and peaceful, the camp slowly turning into a cosy village. The first houses had been finished and were starting to be inhabited.

Elska and Gobber had insisted for Hiccup and Joke to take the first one, so the pregnant young man could enjoy as cosiness as his condition needed. Joke was starting to get pissed being treated as a convalescent. He was pregnant, not sick ! Of course, he was not against small attention, but only small attention. Mostly his mother and sister wanted to help him with any daily chore, as if he was unable to lift a basket on his own.

The first day he felt the baby move, Hiccup started a new morning routine, pressing his ear on his husband belly to hear and feel the slightest move of their child, whispering sweet words to him so he could get used to his voice, repeating over and over again how much he was loved. Joke, though he was happy to see him like this, never ceased to tease him about this.

The Night Lights were making life tough for their parents but were contained in the in-building shed, especially the two youngest. Joke was paying them visits, taking care of them, seeing them play together and bound. The more days spent, the more he noticed Nightsky was the only one to obey their father, which seemed to earn her a peculiar affection from Toothless. Nightfall was enjoying constantly climbing on the back of his older siblings and try to fly.

He also noticed Toothless and Lumiverse were geting tired. No wonder, keeping an eye on three troublemakers was already quite a job, but having two more babies, it was just crazy. The two seemed needing to get some rest, change their mind, and it gave Joke an idea.

It took him a bit of time to find Hiccup, who first worried something was wrong with the baby, but he reassured him and shared his idea with him. As he had suspected, his husband was reluctant at first, still he managed to reassure him and convinced him that Astrid, Elska and Fishlegs had volounteer to babysit the Night Lights.

It had been forever since Lumiverse, Toothless and them had gone flying together, and the four of them needed it. The dragons needed it to escape from their merciless offspring, Hiccup to free himself from his chieftain duties, and Joke to ran away from his gaga sister and mother.

The last arguments convinced Hiccup, so the couple ran away with their dragons. At first, Hiccup worried about the trappers who could be near the island, but said fleet was still far and heading to the south according to the last report from the riders. Then, he wondered if Joke could really ride Lumiverse in his condition, but this thought fade away too.

Indeed, Joke was only in his fifth month, it was too soon for the pregnancy to stop him from doing any activities he wanted, and Lumiverse was very wary of him, more than usual. She herself was a mother, so she knew how to watch over him.

Joke seemed wanting to fly freely and carelessly, but Hiccup couldn't manage to get too far from the island, he didn't want to risk any rough encounter or catch attention towards New Berk. So they compromised into just flying above the island, which was huge enough to need days for exploring it. The sun was gently shining through some clouds, the wind was chilly, chiller than on former-Berk, but it didn't stop the Furies.

Between cruising flight and some figures, the four companions forgot about all their troubles. There was only them in the sky, no one to reach them or bother them, it was perfect for relaxing. At least, until Toothless and Lumiverse suddenly stopped without a warning. Ears popped up on their heads, big eyes staring in the same direction, they hovered in place.

Hiccup and Joke gave quizzical look to one another, then stared the same way their friends were, until they spotted something. They saw a dark silhouette flying above the forest. None of the two young men believed their eyes : there was no doubt, it was a Night Fury !

''We have to get a closer look !'' Joke said, patting his dragon's side.

Lumiverse shook her head and went ahead, quickly followed by Toothless. Both riders didn't know what to expect from this encounter, they were just curious.

For a long time they had thought Toothless was the last of the Night Furies, there were several rumors telling these dragons were gone for good. Then, when Joke had found Lumiverse, they had hoped there was other Furies, but they had never met one… until this day.

They got closer to the black dragon, who stopped and turned to face them. He was exactly like Toothless, unless for his eyes which were more yellow. Unlike Toothless and Lumiverse, he didn't seem surprise to see congeners, but when he saw the vikings on their back, he groaled and fled away.

Hiccup and Joke felt dissapointed, yet they didn't have the time to concert – taking the risk to follow him or not – that their dragons took the decision and charged without their support, chasing after their runaway kin.

* * *

Yeay two more cuties !  
What do you think about Nightsky and Nightfall ? :)


	12. The Hidden World

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 12  
****The Hidden World**

Toothless and Lumiverse were flying for a while now, following this Night Fury who was still running away from them. On their back, Joke and Hiccup were starting to wonder if this was a good idea to follow him. They were getting farther away from New Berk, disappearing to west.

They had tried to talk to their dragons, convinced them to go back, but the Furies didn't want to give up. How could their viking friends blame them ? After years and years of loneliness, supposed to be the last of their kind, they had finally met another Night Fury, it was only natural they wanted to get to know him. But said dragon didn't seem to want them close to him, or rather je didn't want their riders close to him.

If they could land, Hiccup had no objection to let Toothless and Lumiverse go to him.

''Where is he going ?'' Joke worried as he saw they were in the middle of the ocean.

''I don't know, but I don't like it, we're already too far from the island…''

Hiccup bent on Toothless and softly patted his shoulder, but the only answer he got was a short grunt, clearly telling him not to distract the dragon. It was weird, and the direction they were heading to too. Suddenly, the yellow-eyed Night Fury dove to the ocean level, followed by the other two, while Joke could help but worry.

''There's nothing but water here…''

He cut himself as he spotted something right in front of them. A cloud of fog was rising from the ocean, where a huge hole was swallowing the water. Their wild guide disappeared in it, speeding up and diving in it, while the two other Furies flew above and around this bottomless precipice.

''A great waterfall...'' Hiccup gasped.

''At the end of the world !'' Joke added.

They barely had the time to realise what it implied as their dragons suddenly dove into the mist. They went through it without incident, entering in what looked like a giant cave. They passed the veil of the waterfall and kept on flying into the cave. It was so huge the vikings felt tiny.

It was dark, and the dragons were going farther and farther in it, until they found themselves surrounded in pitch black. Lumiverse and Toothless still didn't slow down, and soon another light emerged from the darkness. A soothe blueish light coming from the water itself, as if it was filled with fluorescent algae.

They could see again, like in twilight, and felt teeny again compared to the sizeless inside of this new world. Countless stone pillars covered in plants were filling the cave like trees in a forest, and everything was incredibly still.

Theuy went through a passage inside the stone, entering in another cave, and this one was even more impressive than the previous one. There was even more pillars, covered with glowing plants and crystals, all in purple, blue an dgreen colors. It looked like a rain of lights. And it was there the lights started to reflect in the dragons scales. Toothless found himself covered with blue rays, Lumiverse in mauve and purple.

They reached the end of the stream, ending up flying above another waterfall, flying in the air. The cave was as deep as high, they couldn't see neither of the bottom nor the ceiling, and the light was brighter here. This time, they could see as clear as day.

They kept their path, flying between the glowing pillars, started to meet other dragons there. Orange lights caught their eyes, but when the Furies flew pass them, they started to move.

Actually, it was dragons, Fireworms. They were shining brighter than the vikings had ever saw them do so, just like the eggs hidden in crevices on the pillars.

Then Lumiverse suddenly dove, earning a faint shout from her rider, and Toothless followed her, descending alongside another waterfall. Lights disappeared in the stone and the dragons scales, darkness surrounded them again for a few seconds before they entered in another cave.

It was filled with ice, shining crystals, waterfalls and huge red plants that seemed tydals and shaped platforms were the dragons were landing or flying around.

Hiccup and Joke had already been honoured with the sight of wild nest of dragons, flying in perfect freedom, when they had met Marillys in the Sanctuary, but this… This was bigger and more impressive and more… astounding.

This was the world of dragons.

Groups and groups of dragons were soaring here and there, of so many species the vikings couldn't count them. All of them were free and seemed happy. The vikings spotted some dragon species they already knew, other they had never seen before, and other they had never dreamt to see.

When a hord of black silhouettes flew pass them, Hiccup's jaw dropped.

''Is this… ?'' He gasped.

''Night Furies !'' Joke confirmed.

Indeed, the dragons looked exactly like Toothless, and the two young men couldn't believe they were so many. In this group, they seemed to be ten, maybe twelve. Toothless beamed and started to bostle up, then another group came by, some individuals in it were white, they looked like Light Furies, like Lumiverse.

It was the white dragon's turn to get excited, she warbbled and even purred, which amused Joke. Both vikings wanted to take their time here, to watch the dragons, study them, let their friends join them, yet they couldn't as Lumiverse passed by a Monstruous Nightmare. Said Nightmare eyed them with a suspicious grunt. He was too far away to really see Joke, but he was seeing a mass on the Light Fury's back, and could feel presences.

Knowing their riders could be spotted, Lumivers and Toothless decided to land. They found an ice platform covered with plants and giant mushroom and dropped their passengers there. Both remained astounded, looking upward to this incredible cave.

''The Hidden World.'' Joke breathed.

''It really does exist…''

Both walked to the edge of the platform, still hidden by the plants, so they could have a sight. They spotted giant crystals shining with a blinding light, as bright as the sun itself, and understood it was the source of the light in this underneath world.

A lot of dragons were soaring and twirling around these crystals, like bees around their hive. Wind was blowing upward, toward another crystal on the ceiling. Plenty of dragons seemed to use this as a playground and were flying, pushed by the strong wind, alongside other waterfalls. It was among them Hiccup spotted two familiar frames.

Dragons as tall as Death Song, completely white, with a set of four mings, with sparkling translucent horns. Hiccup grabbed his husband's hand and pointed to the dragons, smiling.

''Look babe, Guardians, like Fiery.''

''Awesome !'' The white-haired young man beamed.

He wanted to move but Hiccup hold him back.

''Wait, you'll spook them.''

Even if that disappointed him, Joke understood and complied. They resumed to only watching them. The two Guardians were whirling in a beautiful dance that looked like a mating dance, and when they landed on a crystal, they were joinded by three others. The tall white dragons were circling one another, playing in their characteristic elegance.

It really was incredible… Hiccup and Joke were marveling of this huge discovery. The hidden world really existed, the dragons were living there in peace, safe from the trapers, the entrance was only reachable for flying being… There was a whole bunch of Night and Light Furies, and even Guardians… It was just unbelievable, and yet real, right in front of them.

The two vikings let their dragons have a tour, they gladly let them join the other dragons, introduce them, which made the two dragons beam. Lumiverse rubbed her head against Joke's and purred to his belly before taking off, while Toothless licked his rider's face before quickly following his mate.

The vikings looked at them flying and whirling, holding hand and eyes full of sparks. They couldn't wipe their smile off their face, huddling against one another while watching their friends. They smiled and laughed seeing them join other dragons, then they got surprised.

A whole group of dragons joined the Furies and started to swirl around them, just like bees around their hives. Hiccup and Joke stood to see better what was happening, and finally understood as the dragons bowed in front of Toothless, who spread his wings before roaring in proud.

''Wow, now that's a king.'' Joke smiled, impressed.

But Hiccup suddenly felt bad. The initial plan of the exodus had been to find the hidden world so they could settle Berk in it, dragons and vikings included. However, now he was seeing this world with his own eyes, he was realizing how senseless this plan was. This place was made for dragons, it was a land of pure freedom, the place were all the dragons were from. It was the land of dragons, humans had nothing to do there.

He realized it even more as he saw how Toothless and Lumiverse were having fun with their congeneres. They seemed so happy, happier than they had ever been on Berk… How, after this meeting, could they ever ask their dragons to leave ? How could they dare tear them off this world that seemingly had been made for them, tear them off their congeneres ? It was like tearing them off their family.

Joke was enthusiastic by the discovery, rejoying from the Night and Light Furies and the Guardians being there, but none of his joyful words reached his husband. Noticing his mute, Joke started to worry and looked back at him, to see a pretty sad face. Hiccup's eyes were sligthly red and shining with incoming tears.

At first, Joke felt puzzled, not understanding what was going on with him, but when he looked back at their friends, he did, and his smile faded too. He didn't know what to say to cheer his husband up, he couldn't do anything else than put his free hand on his shoulder, squeezing the other's hand in his.

''We should go.'' Hiccup whispered.

But then they heard a faint growl behind them. They turned to meet with a particularly ferocious Rumplehorn. He looked at them with a pretty angry scowl and snarled at them. When he rose on his back legs, spreading his wings in a menacing way, he louldly roaled and instantly charged at them. Said roar echoed in the whole cave like an alarm signal, alerting all the dragons who started to rattle.

Hiccup and Joke panicked and had no other choice than back… and jump from the platform. They fell and started to glide along a vertiginous slope of ice, speeding the more they were skidding. Once they were back on the ground, they didn't took the time to calm down as they started to run. The Rumplehorn was still pursuing them, and other dragons were joining him.

Yet, a lot of them were smashed away or derouted but two whistling silhouettes soaring at top speed. Toothless and Lumiverse were zipping between the dragons, making their way as they could – the Alpha making use of his title to roar at the dragons who wanted to attack – so they could reach the source of the commotion. The Rumplehorn had only shouted 'Intruders', but the two Furies knew better who the intruders were.

This world was only reachable for winged creatures, the only intruders were their riders. Fearing for their friends' life, they beated their wings faster than ever, and ended up spotting the two vikings running for dear life, holding on to the other's hand.

Hiccup was often tripping because of his peg leg, Joke hurried every time to pick him up and that was slowing them down. Plus, the white-haired young man's stamina had greatly diminished from his pregnancy and constant tiredness. Hiccup could feel him tiring and getting weaker, and despite the deadly danger and the adrenaline rushing through his veins, the young chief was sick worried for his husband and their child to born.

Toothless roared and forced his body to go even faster, he rammed into a Raincutter threatening to catch Hiccup, pushed the Rumplehorn aside and grabbed both vikings in his front legs before resuming their escape, escorted by Lumiverse. A last roar from their Alpha forced the pursuers to give up.

Hiccup lifted his head towards his best friend and apologize for making such a mess without meaning to.

''I'm sorry, bud, I-I-I I'm sorry…''

As they went out of the Hidden World, both vikings couldn't help but look back at the great waterfall. However, the beauty of this natural formation was spoiled by the presence of a dark ship.

The Furies had come out so fast and from the oposite side, making them unspotted, yet the foursome could see the ship. Hiccup and Joke recognized the grey and black banner from the Slaughterhouse, and got surprised to see the men on bridge free the dragons directly to the entrance of the Hidden World.

Hiccup thought back to Kosmozis' claim, explaining that, since the beginning, the Slaughterhouse was only a cover, capturing dragons only aiming to lead them to safety. The young chief suddenly understand that this safety was the Hidden World. So Kosmozis was really saving the dragons, in the end.

Safety and calm surrounded them again, along with silence. Holding onto his husband in his arms, carried away from all danger by their faithful friends, Hiccup barely noticed the way back home, he drowned in his thoughts, in his memories, in his turmoil.

When his eyes closed from exhaustion, he saw his father's face behind his eyelids.


	13. Protector and captor

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !

Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 13  
****Protector and captor**

_Hiccup had been five, maybe six at that time, it was a few months before they had found Joke. In his little nightdress, he was cautiously steping down the stairs in the middle of the night, but froze as he spotted his father, sitting in front of the fireplace. The man was crying._

_He hesitated and wanted to get back to his room, but the step creaked, exposing him to the chief. Stoick turned and saw his son, who curled on himself. The chief sniffed and wiped his eyes._

''_Son, you should be asleep.''_

''_I was thirsty…__''_

_Hiccup felt bad, he didn't wanted to surprise his father, even less to spy on him. The man understood it and smiled, holding out a hand to him._

''_Come here.__''_

_The little boy smiled and let his plush on the stairs before runing to his father. Stoick sat him on his knees and let him help him hold the stool to shake to embers in the fire._

''_Dad, are you… gonna get us a new mom ?__''_

_Stoick smiled again, despite his sad face, and hugged his small son before kissing his head._

''_I don't want another. Your mom… was the only woman for me. She was the love of my life.__''_

_He hugged his son again, both looking at the crackling fire. Silence remain__ed__ for a short moment, before the chief spoke again._

''_But with love comes loss, son. It's part of the deal. Sometime__s__ it's hard, but in the end__...''_

_He looked back at his son, with softness, contemplating the slightest trait he had in common with his beloved Valka._

''_It's all worth it. There's no better gift than love.__''_

Hiccup couldn't help but think about his father's words during the rest of the way back. He was back on Toothless' back, Joke on Lumiverse's. Both dragons had not made any noise from the beginning on the journey, just faint vibrant sounds that seemed sad. Both Furies were soaring in a none-motivation-way, as if lost in their thoughts. Hiccup looked at his hubsand, both of them were saddened to see their friends like this. Seemingly, this visit to the Hidden World had shaken them.

They flew for a bit longer before going back to New Berk, it was early afternoon but the clouds were making it a pretty dark day. When they finally landed, the vikings dismounted their friends, still in deafening silence. Lumiverse was the first to move as she walked slowly to Toothless and rubbed against his side, before looking at the horizon, towards west, with longing eyes.

Joke felt his heart ache seeing how she seemed nostalgic of this beautiful place they had just discovered. Toothless, for his part, gaze between the horizon and the camp. Hiccup looked there too, the construction had progressed again while they were out. He spotted two hutts being built at the top of hills. Dragons flying there were carrying bags filled with rocks.

Somehow, this view he had known for the past nine years ached his heart. He couldn't help but compare them to the ones living in the Hidden World. As he was losing his sight on them, he drowned in his thoughts.

He thought back to what Elska had told him, concerning the fact they were relying too much on the dragons. He also reminded something she had said at the Sanctuary, three years prior, debatting on the limit between friendship and ownership.

''_There's a fine line between being a protector and acaptor. This is the subtility between being a queen and a tyran, I must protect them as I must protect their liberty_.''

Back then, Hiccup thought he had understood what she implied, but now he was sure of it. After seeing the Hidden World and seeing how happy and free Toothless and Lumiverse were there, now that he looked at Berk's dragons with a more aged look, he didn't see free dragons.

A dark idea came across his mind. Maybe Kosmozis was right ? Maybe humans were greedy, even those who were well-intentioned were greedy without noticing it.

The young chief came back to reality as he felt a chilly hand caress his cheek. He looked to his left and met the concerned eyes of his husband. He drowned in surreal warmth of his blue eyes, almost forgetting his troubles. Almost.

''What's troubling you ?''

''I'm thinking.'' Hiccup rejoined, taking his hand in his.

When he looked back to the camp, Joke did as well, trying to guess what was going on in the head of his husband and chief.

''I realize Elska was right, we rely too much on our dragons, we can't do anything without us anymore. Look at this, we even use them for our work. I thought they were happy here, but when I saw Toothless and Lumiverse back there…''

Words suddenly escaped him, emotions took control, leaving a long sigh instead of further explanation.

''I wouldn't say 'use'.'' Joke said with a surprisingly light tone. ''We help each other. We're stronger together. Don't you think that, if they didn't want to help, the dragons would find a way to kick us out ?''

His joking tone aught to draw a slight smile on the viking chief's face. Just talking to his husband and he already felt better.

He looked back to the white-haired young man and melted again in his eyes and smile. If this was going on like this, Hiccup was going to really think Joke was a warlock, his words had their kind of magic, calming him down. And the gods knew he needed it.

As he was contemplating the perspective of kissing him, his train of thoughts got interrupted by Lumiverse when she rubbed her head against both of them. Joke chuckled and scratched her nape, which she appreciated. She bent her head backward and closed her eyes, slightly purring. Toothless warbbled to the pregnant man, asking for some affection too.

Joke gave it to him with his other hand, forcing him to let go of his husband. Petting them didn't stop him from talking.

''Nevertheless, I agree we're getting too dependant on them, we have to relearn to handle ourselves, well… by ourselves. I mean, we both see it thanks to the Night Lights, but our dragons have their life too, and it's a good thing.''

Hiccup smiled seeing that, despite a different vision on the matter, they were agreeing. It relieved him.

''You're right, we have to learn anew, and we have to give them back their life. Our dragons should be free.''

When his tone changed to become more solemn, Joke stopped the petting to listen to him with full attention.

''This exodus was to seek the Hidden World and settle there, but you saw it too : this is a land for dragons. There is no place for humans, there.''

''It's no big deal. We have this island, now.'' Joke shrugged.

The white-haired yougn man tried to smile but, he didn't know why, he had a bad feeling about what his husband was planing.

''Yes.'' Said husband rejoined. ''We belong here, they belong there.''

Toothless lifted his head, Hiccup could have sworn his pupils got rounder, so it gave him even more courage, yet this impression faded as the dragon whined.

The Night Fury walked to him and rubbed against the viking who seemed ready to say good-bye, but Joke didn't agree.

''Hold on live, you're going too far.''

''How so ?''

''I agree with you when you say the Hidden World is a land of dragons, but you can't just send them all there. Here, this is our world just like their, we can share it- No, we have to share it.''

Hiccup froze in surprise as his husband's voice was raising, getting angry. Just like their first conversation about the exodus, their divergent opinion was turning into a fight, but a bigger one that the previous.

''I thought you wanted peace between out two peoples ? Tell me how do you want to change people's mind if you bannish the dragons ? We have to get to know what we don't understand if we want to accept it !''

The young chief wanted to retort something, yet he had to admit Joke got a point. The young man with snowy hair glared at him, and the way he was keeping Lumiverse close to him added weight to his words. The way Toothless was rubbing against himself did so too, it looked like the Night Fury was asking him to hold him too. It convinced him Joke was right. Hiccup sighed and wrapped his arms around the black scaly head.

''I'm sorry, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking.''

He heard a faint sigh, like a relieved sigh, then heard footsteps nearing him. Just the time to see the white hair and he found himself in a chilly embrace. He squeezed back and buried his face in the neck of his beloved. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like crying. He felt the urge to cry, like a wave splashing inside of his chest.

Before even noticing it, tears rolled down his cheeks and sobs were making his way in his throat, shaking his shoulders and whole body. It felt like he had accumulated pressure without realizing it, and now he was breaking down. For how long had he been keeping this inside of him ? What was making him collapse all of a sudden ?

Surely it was realization of the huge mistake he had almost commited, giving up on a so-precious friendship as the one he shared with Toothless. Joke was right : they were stronger together, learning anew to handle themselves on their own didn't mean cutting all their bounds.

Shamelessly, with complete trust for the one he was holding in his arms, the most important person for him, he wiped like a little child and let out all troubles. He lost himself in the chillness of the arms wrapped around him, the chillness of his slim but strong body he was holding, and soon felt a reassuring stroke at the back of his head.

''I know it's not easy.'' Joke said while kissing his head and hugging him. ''Peace is a long-lasting fight, composed on several battles on different levels. It will take time, but I'm sure we'll do it, in the end. We just have to not give up.''

Hiccup knew he was right. They couldn't give up, they couldn't give up on the dragons. Kosmozis was mistaking thinking that men couldn't change, that peace was impossible and that they had to send back the dragons where they came from. Berk was proof of this change, people just had to see it to do the same.

In a moment of sorrow, Hiccup had almost took the same path as the General, forgetting in the process everything he believed in. But he had the chance to have someone reminding it to him. Breathing in the scent of this someone, feeling the love of this someone envelopping him, he discovered all over again the strength and depth of his own feelings.

Pressed against one another, Hiccup could also feel the curve of his beloved's belly against his, making him able to perceive the vibrations caused by their child's movements, reminding them he was here too.

This moment of cooling down could have been a bliss, a glimpse of Valhalla on earth, yet it reminded him about the threat over this being he was cherishing so much. These two beings he was cherishing so much.

Joke always knew how to back him up in his worst moments, to find the words he needed to find back his courage and confidence, he had always been there for him, and once again he had proven how much the viking chief needed him. In the end, maybe Hiccup was not only dependable of his friendship with the mighty Night Fury…

He could picture what would become of him if he had to lose Joke.

''I love you so, so, so much, Joke.'' He whispered inbetween two sobs.

''And I love you just as well. Hum… maybe with one more 'so'. ''

Hiccup chuckled. Decidedly, even in the worst moments, Joke could make a joke. When he felt once again the chill lips kissing his hair, shivers ran down Hiccup's spine. He let go of his husband and pressed his forehead on his, drowning back into his eyes.

Then he kissed him, letting in a mixture of passion and tenderness wave over the thin lips he was so addicted to. Notions of time, war and peace faded away from his comprehension, he forgot every single fundamental principle about existence, only keeping in mind love and the life that was growing up inside his lover, life over which he put a warm and reassuring hand.

* * *

Hello guys !

Just a little message to warn you I won't be able to post the following chapters before the 26th (you know why of course ;) )

So until then, Happy Snoggletog to you ! :)


	14. New rules

Hey guys ! I'm back with the new chapter !  
Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 14  
****New rules**

Once the kiss ended with the interruption of two warbbling Furies, Hiccup's mind started again to work. The two young men walked back to the camp, holding hands, one talking softly to his dragon, the other thinking.

After this invigorating talk making him remember what he believed in and was ready to fight for, Hiccup made a decision. He was planing on making it official soon, surely during the evening banquet which the vikings seemed found of during the building of the village.

He had decided to make official the settlement of New Berk on this island, and give up on the Hidden World. However, he was also planning on imposing a restriction of using the dragons for work, establishing new rules so the winged creatures would be more free, and most of all avoid to keep them all in the village with them. Vikings, like dragons, needed more space from each other. They had to get a lesson from the overbusy former-Berk.

Anyway, New Berk was only a tiny isle in the huge fortress island, there was way enough space for letting the dragons live their own life, let the ones who wanted to stay, live within the village, and let the ones who wanted to get back to their roots leave for the Hidden World. Hiccup decided that, starting from this day, they were no more forcing a dragon to stay, nore to leave if they wanted to stay. Dragons deserved to choose their own way of life.

Conscious these changes were not going to be easily accepted, nore easy to annonce, he asked advices from Gobber, Elska, Astrid and Fishlegs. They helped him write a speech for the clan. The news of the exodus had not been welcomed because it had been rushed, improvised, so Hiccup wanted to do the things right, this time.

As the ground floor of the brand new chief hutt served as a reunion place for the five busy vikings, the first story was supposed to be a relaxing place but was actually theatre of the commotion of five too energic young dragons.

As the travel to the Hidden World had made him tired, Joke had already eaten and was going to bed early to get rest. No one blamed him for that, the pregnancy seemed to be an excuse everyone was giving him without questioning.

Astrid quickly left the reunion to visit her brother and help him with the dragons. She couldn't help but laugh as she entered the room, seeing him lying on the bed and surrounded by the Night Lights.

If Nightsky was perfectly calm in his arms, Nightfall had climbed on the bed-head while Duskstorm and Daylight were wrestling by the foot of the bed, threatening to get under it at any moment.

Toothless was sound asleep in a corner of the room, Midnight sprawled on his head in the same passed out state, and Lumiverse was sitting near the bed, like a guard here to protect Joke, eyeing her youngest baby with a reproval glare.

Joke seemed half asleep, his head feel forward as Astrid opened the door, the light stroking his face waking him up in a jolt. He smiled and greeted her, she smiled back and walked to him. She had to avoid the two fighters, then greeted Lumiverse, before eventually sitting at the edge of the bed.

''So ?'' She teased. ''How are you doing, mommy ?''

Joke gave her a half-amused, half-mischievous look, but didn't say anything about the pun. Instead, he adressed her a more sensitive subject.

''What do you think about the decree ?''

Astrid looked up at the mottled Night Light moving over the head of her brother, while thinking about the question.

''I think this is a good idea.''

''But… ?'' Joke hesitated.

''No buts. Actually, it's great to try and put some distance with the dragons. Keeping them with us at every moment, especially keeping so many of them, it's getting stifling, for us and for them.''

Joke didn't say anything about it, but actually he was kind of relieved she was agreeing to the idea.

''I'm just surprised.'' She added. ''This morning Hiccup was still only thinking about finding the Hidden World, I just wonder what changed his mind.''

''We found it.''

Astrid froze with surprise and blinked a couple of times, trying to determine if this was really true. Her brother's smile convinced her.

''I wish you were here to see it, it was incredible, there were so many dragons there… We even saw Night and Light Furies.''

''Did you ? Then Toothless and Lumiverse aren't the last ones.''

She smiled brightly to the white dragon next to her, yet said dragon didn't see it as she was still glaring at Nightfall. He didn't seem quite affected and was keeping his antics.

When he started to claw-sharpen on the wood, both vikings stopped their conversation and tried to stop him. Bothered by Nightsky, Joke gave her to his sister then proceeded in trying to get a hold on the troublemaker. He had troubles making him loose grip, then the hatchling showed his protest by wriggling as soon as the chilly hands held him.

He wagged so much Joke almost dropped him, but he kept him next to his chest and stroked his back while hushing him, hoping it would calm him down. Astrid held back her laughter. If the three elder Night Lights had the bad tendency to ignore their father's scold, they used to always listen to their mother. Nightsky was wiser as she used to listen both parents. However, Nightfall seemed to be the perfect rebel since even Lumiverse's growl couldn't make him docile.

Astrid tried to picture what would the house look like when, added to the five hatchlings, the baby would be here too. Both young men would certainly pray the gods so they could sleep at night.

''This is gonna be craziness here in a few months.'' She chuckled.

Joke rolled his eyes despite the fact he was still holding the wrestling dragon as best as he could.

''I don't want to think about it.'' He sighed. ''I just hope I can count on you then.''

''Maybe-''

She wanted to tease him but got cut as Nightfall suddenly squeaked so loud it woke up the three sleeping dragons. Toothless jumpes on his paws as if he was under attack, Midnight panicked and quickly hid under his wing and Nightsky started too in Astrid's arms.

Lumiverse snarled at the noisy baby but still he refused to calm down. He was now wrestling with such strength Joke couldn't afford to let him go without risking the hatchling to smash into the ceiling.

However, everything ended with a tail hit. Nobody saw it coming, still Nightsky express her bad mood with a quick and accurate move, hitting her younger brother on the nose, which caught him by surprise. The little one froze on spot while his sister snuggled into Astrid's arms to fall asleep again.

Both vikings stared at her in surprise and amusement. Lumiverse blew from her nostril with satisfaction, then she nuzzled her rider's cheek. She cooed at him, then purred again in front of his belly before skirting the bed to get to Toothless and Midnight, the three of them settling for the night.

The Light Fury called out the two wrestling under the bed, calling it a day for them too. It was a bit early for them too, but since she was very wary of Joke, she wanted her human friend to get some rest.

Understanding everyone was going to bed, Astrid decided to let them alone. She put the two youngest dragons in the paws of their mother and tucked in her little brother. He teased her, returning her own pun against her as he called her mommy, she laughed and kissed his forehead while saying 'good night'.

''Tell me how the meeting went on, okay ?'' He asked.

''Sorry, I'm not going to the banquet tonight, I've got a date.''

''Oh, really ?''

He rose his eyebrows and gave her a knowing look.

''Look who's keeping secrets, now.'' He teased.

Astrid chuckled and put her fists on her hips.

''Hey, I've got my own life, too. But, if it can reassure you, of course I was going to tell you… Later, when it won't be 'new' anymore.''

He only smiled in reply. Of course he knew she would have told him, he was just teasing her. He had to find a payback for all the gaga she was making him bare for the last weeks.

''Can I have a name, at least ?''

''You know him, that's all I can tell you.''

''Everyone knows everyone here.''

The young woman smirked at him. Joke knew her all too well to know he would not make her spil it.

''Nevermind, I'll find out sooner or later.'' He said with a false-menacing-tone.

Actually, he already had supcisions. He knew her acquaintances, with whom she was spending most of her time, and he had noticed this thing between Eret and her.

They had to admit the former-trapper had got quite a cold welcoming three years prior, and Astrid had been the one who had defended him the most, even more than Hiccup.

Joke kept his thoughts to himself and smiled to his sister, who left the room. He waited a bit longer before blowing out the candle resting on the table near the bed. In the darkness, lulled by the sound of seven dragons breathing next to him, Joke started to think.

Things were beginning to get settled in New Berk, Hiccup had found back hope and self-confidence, Kosmozis and his men were still far from finding out their location, and the shape of their island assured them a natural protection against any invaders.

Things were alright, and yet Joke couldn't help but worry. He couldn't really understand why, he couldn't put a finger on the reasons. He came out his thoughts as he felt a new vibration in his belly, along with a short pain on the right side, as if he had been hit from the inside. He put both his hands around the growing plump and felt the vibrations. Then he understood what was this worry.

Kosmozis was still out there, somewhere, his threat was still hovering over them. If it had been only for him, Joke could have cope, but he wasn't the only one threatened anymore. As long as Kosmozis didn't know Elska had survived too, she was safe. Hiccup was safe too, even if Joke knew he would be severely bruised if something were to happen to him. However, this child he was bearing, he was as in danger as him. He had to be careful for him. Or rather, for her.

Joke smiled as he kept on feeling her move. He didn't know exactly how, but he was sure it was a girl.

''Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you.'' He whispered.

If he could have done it, he would have kiss her. He felt a bit of jealousy as he thought Hiccup could press his ear on the belly and hear her, and could plant kisses the closest to her as possible. He thought about it for a moment, then dismissed the idea as stupide since Hiccup must be jealous too. Indeed, Joke could feel her move inside of him.

The young men filled his mind with a picture that kept on warming up his heart, the one of his husband bent over his belly, talking to their child. This image made him smile, a soft and warm smile he kept on his face until he finally fell asleep.

o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o

Two more weeks had elapsed and things were getting a turn on New Berk. Non only were there more houses than tents, but the decree had also been adopted. It was even starting to be turned into practice. About thirsty dragons had been gone back to the wild, vikings had established a 'free dragon week' which would be organized every two or three months, consisting in forbiding dragon working during this week.

If most of the vikings went along the decree, others had difficulties to do so and kept their dragons with them. Astrid and Eret were seen together more often, comforting Joke in his hypothesis about his sister's relationship. Hiccup and his husband had enjoyed two days without the Fury family in the house, allowing them to get the silence and privacy they needed to rest.

A few expeditions had been put in charge of mapping the huge island and identify the best places to settle the dragons. Fishlegs proposed to build some bases in several locations so they could keep an eye on the winged creatures and keep them accustomed to viking's presence so they won't go back to complete wild state, which would in the end cause some fights between the two peoples.

If dragons were getting more and more freedom outside of New Berk isle, some of them just couldn't leave, and some vikings couldn't let them leave either. It was the case of Snotlout and the Thorston twins, mostly, they used to keep their dragons with them all the time.

If this was the vikings holding back the dragons and the dragons staying by habits or because they wanted to, it was difficult to say. As it was now forbidden to force dragons to do anything – including leave or stay – this problem remained unsolved.

Jack was feeling the baby move so often it was starting to feel like it was never stopping. Now into his siwth month of pregnancy, the baby was starting to weight and his back was aching. Visits to Goathi's were increasing to make sure he was correctly watched over, and the things we could do on his own were dicreasing.

His pregnancy was now visible. The plump on his belly was growing, he was still hungry and now he was complaining about puffed ankles, hot flushes and his back. If, until then, hormones had not driven him crazy, the mixture of it and his family's constant mania of helping him managed to turn him irritable.

Plus, the fact he couldn't find anymore a comfortable position to sleep wasn't helping, he was bothered by the weight of his belly, and it was sure not getting better in the following months. Hiccup was starting to feel the lack of sleep, each night he was awoken by feeling his partner moving around in the bed. Thankfully, the dragons had decided to not live in the house anymore. If this was a way to flee from the young man's new personality or if Lumiverse had decided to leave so he could rest properly without the Night Lights commotion, noone knew.

Still, the Fury family had found a nice cove where the had settled, the shape was of a moon crescent and was close enough from the village so they could visit their viking friends everyday and be reachable if needed. They were part of the returned-to-the-wild dragons even if they were spending most of their time at the village. They were with their viking all day long and were only leaving for night time.

This had proven two important things to Hiccup. First, the friendship between vikings and dragons was not forbidding their freedom. Second, less closeness between them wasn't diminishing this friendship.


	15. A chief protects his own

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 15  
****A chief protects his own**

Hiccup woke up in a jolt, panting, covered in sweat, his heart racing like crazy. In his mind was still playing the nightmare he had. Trying to calm down, he placed his hands on his face, wiping off the drops of sweat, pushing his hair off his wet forehead.

He breathed in and out, managing to convince himself what he had saw was not real, and it was confirmed when he felt someone move next to him in the bed.

Joke lifted his head with a grunt, half closed eyes, grimacing as he was trying to open them. Hiccup looked at him turn around so he could face him, while is barely-awake voice spoke to him in a faint murmur.

''You okay, babe ?''

Despite the fact he was tired and had not enough energy, making him collaspe back on the bed and close his eyes again, the young man still put a chilly hand on his husband's arm. Hiccup smiled and bent so he could kiss his forehead.

''I'm fine, I just had a nightmare.''

''Must have been awful to wake you up like this. Wanna talk about it ?''

Hiccup couldn't find the strength to answer right away. Since he was now perfectly awake, beside the one he loved, he didn't really want to go back to his dreadful nightmare. He layed back on the bed and wrapped his arms around Joke, waryly not puting weight to his already-bothering-enough-belly.

Squeezing his husband against his chest, burying his nose in his snowy hair so he could breath in his scent, he sighed with contempt. Even if he didn't speak, the silence was an answer.

''Kosmozis, isn't it ?'' Joke stated.

''Yes.'' Hiccup admitted. ''I dreamt he managed to reach you, and I just stayed there, completely helpless while he was killing you…''

When a sob escaped his throat, Hiccup buried his entire face in Joke's hair, and felt chilly arms wrap around him.

''It's not going to happen, love.''

''How can you be so sure ?''

Feeling anguish coming back in his heart, Hiccup felt the urge to see his lover's face to make sure he was still here with him. He broke the hug and cupped his face, looking at him dead in the eye despite the time of the night. The onyl light was coming from outside, from a very shy moon, but it was enough for their eyesaccustomed to the dark.

''Don't tell me he would never find our island nor would reach it, we both know it's not true. It can happen tomorrow, or in ten years, it does will happen. And I can't stand it, Joke. I can't live with the fear he could hurt you.''

Joke froze hearing such confession. Hiccup thought he knew what was happening in his lover's head. Surely the white-haired young man wanted to answer something, wanted to reassure him, but didn't know what to say. Yet he got a completely different reaction as Joke frowned, he seemed scandalized.

''Is that all you worry about ? Aren't you worried about what he could do to the dragons ? About what he could do to our dragons and clan if he comes here ?''

Hiccup was so abashed he could not find his words. Joke pushed his arms away and got up from the bed. He struggled a bit to straighten up because of the belly, then dressed with the long nightshirt he had left above the furs – the night hot flushes were the worst, forcing him to sleep naked, not that Hiccup would complain about it.

The young chief shook his head to clear his ideas, and quickly got up too. When he tried to reach his husband, Joke stepped back. The air was getting so thick they could have cut it with a knife. It was not usual to see Joke that serious, it only happened when it came to chieftain matters.

''Our daughter and I aren't the only thing at stake here, Hiccup. You seem to forget it. It's not only about our family, it's about the clan and all of our dragons.''

''But Kosmozis doesn't harm them, he shelter them to the Hidden World.''

''Oh, really ? Do you really think that's enough for him ? What? He'll lead them there and that's all ? If he really wants to make them unreachable, don't you think he's gonna make sure none of them will get out ? Don't you think he's gonna lock them in ?''

Hiccup had to admit his husband flummoxed him, but he wasn't wrong.

''That's not sheltering them, that's banishing them. Kosmozis may think he's saving them, but he's wrong. Don't do the same mistake.''

''W-What am I supposed to do, then ? I… It's only making the situation even worst, but we still don't know how to stop him. I said I'd figure something out, but it had been weeks and I still didn't found how…''

He stopped his ranting and his gestures, looking staight to his husband, whose face had turned from serious to sad. Same sadness crushed Hiccup's heart, filling him with guilt and shame.

''I don't know what to do.''

The guilt smashed him in the face, just like a wave into a stormy sea. He looked down at his hands, looking at this feeling of helplessness that seemed to follow him since he had become the chief.

''See, that's your problem, Hic.'' Joke said with disappointment in the voice.

Chock washed over guilt as Hiccup started. He wondered what was this accusation hiding behind Joke's harsh words, it didn't sound like him. He started to question if he was really awake, maybe all this conversation was only a dream within a dream. Looking intely at his white-haired lover, he tried to determine wether or not all of this was real.

''It's always 'you'. You always have to do everything.''

''A chief protects his own and-''

''And ? Yes, you are the chief. Yes, you have a lot of responsabilities and people are asking you to solve problems. Yes, the clan rely on you, but you don't rely on anyone.''

''You're wrong, I rely on you and on-''

''Toothless ? Are you sure ? When have you last asked him or me for some help ?''

Hiccup opened his mouth in pure reflex, hoping to answer right away, but he couldn't. Scaning his memories, he tried to find the last time, anytime, but the more he searching, the less he was finding. So he kept quiet, hands frozen in one of these gestures he always made to follow his words.

Joke shook his head with a sigh, then ran a hand on his face.

''That's why I didn't want to tell you about my symptoms, at the beginning. It was not in fear to bother you or add more concerns to you, I was afraid you'd drop everything else.''

''How is taking care of you a bad thing ?'' Hiccup asked, suddenly upset.

''It's not a bad thing… You have the right to have priorities, but you can't just stop acting chief while you made everyone so dependant of you.''

''So you're saying this is my fault ?!''

''Yes.''

Hiccup started as the answer was immediate and harsh. Joke gave him an upset look and crossed his arms over his belly, the slight grimace on his face as he had pressed on the plump did not escape the young chief but couldn't manage to distract him from his increasing anger.

''The thing is, Hiccup, you're always doing everything on your own. I don't know if you're trying to prove yourself by endorcing all the responsabilities-''

''That's what a chief is supposed to do, Joke !'' Hiccup cut him out. ''My father was doing this before me, that's only logical I'd do the same.''

''Is that what it's about ? You're trying to live up to Stoick ?''

Hiccup's anger was starting to boil inside of him and was mixing with the guilt Joke's accusations was awakening. Despite the arguing that had started between them in the middle of the night, Hiccup didn't find the will to raise his voice, especially seeing the sadness on his husband's face.

Said husband stepped closer and took his hands, holding them firmly.

''You're not like him, Hiccup. And you don't have to. Becoming chief doesn't mean you have to rule like he did. You won't be able to, anyway. He did deeds you could never do-''

Hiccup growled and averted his eyes, fighting against the urge to pull back his hands, but Joke kept them. He didn't let him time to get upset as he took his chin and forced him to look back in his direction.

''And vice-versa. You too had accomplished mighty deeds he could have never done.''

''Like what ?'' The green-eyed viking grunted.

''Establish the peace with dragons, for instance.''

Hiccup's mouth closed instantly, making Joke smile.

''You both have your own strengths and weaknesses, it doesn't mean one of you is better than the other, just different. No one asks you to become a new Stoick.''

''… They're asking me to be as good a chief as he was.''

''How so ?'' Joke isnsited.

''You said it yourself, they rely on me to help them.''

''No, they rely on you to be their chief. They just need _someone_ to help them. It doesn't have to be you all the time. If you think you have to rule alone because Stoick did, you're pretty wrong. Stoick wasn't alone. He had help from Gobber, Spitelout, Goathi, and the former Counsil. They were here to help him on his duties.''

Hiccup listened in silent. He had given up on replying since Joke's words were tickling his memories. He reminded his father and noticed that, indeed, the mighty warrior used to share his chores and duties.

The chilly hands of his husband, stroking his cheek lovingly, brought him back to the present, he instantly met the eyes he cherished the most in the world, along with a reassuring smile.

''You're inflicting yourself with too much work for one person's sake, love. There are things you can't do on your own, and you don't have to. Rely on the others for a change, stop handling everything alone nore try to fix everything by yourself. We're here, too. Not just Toothless and I. Astrid, Gobber, mom, the gang, the other dragon riders, all of the village. We are stronger together. All of us.''

Hiccup took a bit of time to take in all these advices. He let them sink into his mind, marvelling at how wise they were. He put his hand over his husband's still on his cheek, kissing the palm with a light amused smile.

''You're thinking about it for a while, don't you ?''

The pregnant man shrugged.

''I talked about it to mom and Astrid. Gobber may have said something too, about you doing too much.''

Hiccup chuckled, always entertained by the brute nature of the black-smith who was never twisting his tongue before talking and still didn't know what was tact.

''You guys are right.'' He admitted. ''I should slow down, let go of some pression and rely more on you all.''

''We're gonna help you, don't worry.'' Joke said while nodding.

They smiled, then the white-haired young man bent his husband's head forward so he could kiss his forehead. Hiccup sighed and hugged him. Burying his head in the crook of the pale neck, he breathed in his scent and sighed.

''Do you think I should talk about Kosmozis to the others ? Ask them for advice ?''

''Yes, you must. We didn't formed a new Council just for decoration.''

Joke broke the hug and kept his hands on his husband's shoulders, his gaze became a bit solemn.

''It's time for you to do what you never did : ask for help.''

Hiccup pinched his lips in a embarrassed and apprehensive smile, then he nodded.

o*o*o*o*o*o*o

The following day, upon his husband's advices, Hiccup reunited the Council and talked to them. Joke even felt proud as he used his exact same words after apologizing to his friends.

''It's time for me to do what I never did : ask for help. Your help.''

Despite the night being short for the young chief who had been occasionally woken up by his husband's annoyed movements, he had thought about heir conversation.

It was true Hiccup had never considered if a task was too much for him to handle. He was smart and resourceful, he used to figure out a way to accomplish the task, that's why he never thought about asking help. But it was also because of his past.

In his teenage years, everyone turned his back on him since he was no viking material. Only Joke remained friend with him, but it didn't stop the viking from handling himself alone and shutting himself from others. Without noticing it, Hiccup kept this habit while growing up, even after the peace had been establish, even after people changed their mind about him.

He was respected, he was given more responsabilities by handling the dragons and the Dragon Training Academy. He had started to open up to others, to do everything he could to help them, but it was true he had never asked for help in return. Even worst, he declined it when offered. However, Joke's admonition made him realize it was time for him to rely on others, for once.

There was no shame in asking for help, it was just an habit he had never get, but he swore to himself he was going to get it. No only Joke was right saying he couldn't do everything on his own, but making everyone dependable on him was dangerous. How was the clan supposed to deal with itself if something happened to their chief ? If he was to get sick or just being called away ?

Seeing the Council's reaction, Hiccup understood Goober, Astrid, Elska and Joke wasn't the only who had thought about it. If most of them smiled, Snotlout rolled his eyes and even threw his arms in the air.

''Finally !''

''We were wondering if you'd ever realize it.'' Eret added, smiling.

Astrid shove him gently with her elbow, affection pourring from the gesture, which made the Haddock couple smile. Elska chuckled of it, then she got up and walked to Hiccup, putting her hands on his shoulders.

''Union makes us stronger, union with dragons as with the members of our clan.''

''Don't forget our allies !'' Gobber added, now the last one still sat on his chair.

''Sure.'' Tuffnut said, seemingly bored.

Exceptionally, even if they were not part of the Council, Ruffnut and him were part of the reunion as the chief's friend and dragon riders, but no one had expected them to say something useful.

''What good it is in having allies if you can't reckon on them ?'' He added.

Everyone froze, mouth agape for Fishlegs and Snotlout, looking at the Thorston son as if he grew up a second head. He stopped bitting his nails and looked at them the same way.

''What ? What did I say, this time ?''

''Huh… Something clever ?'' Snotlout said.

''Don't worry, I'll fix this.'' Ruffnut snickered and hit her brother pretty hard in the helmet.

The hit reverberated so hard in the metal helmet even Astrid flinched at the sound.

''Aah, better. Thanks, sis.'' Tuffnut sighed even if he wiggled.

''With pleasure.''

Hiccup shook his head, trying to ignore their antics, and went back to focus. The chilly hand of his husband on his help him to do so, even more combined to his reassuring smile that always managed to alleviate his mood.

''They're right.'' The white-haired young man said. ''We should rally the other clans. Kosmozis does threaten their dragons, too.''

''Yeah, but we'd still need them after this.'' Gobber added, rising his wooden hand high enough to catch their attention.

The young chief gave him a quizzical glance, not sure about what the black-smith implied, but Fishlegs understood it and started to bounce on his feet.

''Oh, that's true ! They can help us spread the peace !'' He beamed.

Hiccup wanted to slap himself. How come his friends managed to find solutions that seemed that obvious to matters he was dealing wih for so long ? It sounded easy for them, while he had not thought about it.

Once again, he had to admit Joke was right : he really didn't know how to ask for help.

''Peace is a fight that concerns all of us.'' Elska claimed. ''Berk can't be the only spokesman, everyone has to take a part of the job.''

''And the more we speak, the more the message will be heard.'' Astrid concluded, her fists on her hips.

It sounded logical, indeed. Why would the Hairy Hooligans be the only clan to preach peace if other clans had been convinced and had adopted this way of life ? If they cared for the dragons too, they had to defend them as well.

''You asked for our help, Hiccup.'' Astrid spoke again. ''So this is what we propose : call all our allies to fight with us, and confront Kosmozis before he gets to us.''

Elska nodded her head and looked back to her son-in-law.

''We have this advantage on him. We have allies while he has only employees. The trappers only follow him because he pays them, they'll never be as loyal to him as our allies would be to us.''

Hiccup smiled and nodded with determination, tightening his grip on his husband's hand. Baffingly, he felt lighter than he had been in his three years of chieftain. He had troubles realizing how good it felt to simply talk to his friends, rely on them, and allow them to share his burden. One thing for sure, he was really going to organize other reunions like this one. For all he was smart, they were smarter with several brains.

After the reunion, the Council had a meeting with the whole village, explaining the new plan. Of course, there were some preparations to do, forming teams, determining who was going to which clan, who was staying to protect New Berk…

Hiccup was torn between the call of duty which told him he had to leave with the expeditions because he was the best in convincing the other clans to join the battle and between his protective instinct telling him to stay on New Berk to protect Joke.

Logic wanted Joke to leave with the expedition, yet his pregnancy was too advanced for him to ride a dragon – to Lumiverse's great dismay. Joke couldn't go with them, and Hiccup felt his heart shatter with anxiety to the thought of leaving him.

When the time came for the riders to leave, Hiccup felt like he was saying his farewell to his lover, so he kissed him as if they would never see each other again. Joke chuckled at it and hugged him.

''I love you, babe, come back soon.'' The white-haired young man said.

''I love you too. And you too, little boo.''

He bent foreward and let his hands rest on the plump of his pregnant husband, feeling a slight vibration under the tunic.

''When you come back, we have to seriously think about giving a name to this little lady.'' Joke said.

''Are you really sure this is a girl ?'' Hiccup wondered.

''Believe me, I feel it. And if she's not a smarty-pant like her father, be sure to have a mini-Astrid at home.''

Said Astrid heard them and grabbed her little brother from behind, ruffling his hair mercilessly with a fake-vexed expression.

''If she's like her aunt, you guys'd be sooo lucky to have her.'' She said.

''Okay, okay !'' Joke laughed.

He chased her hands away before hugging her too. She dropped her angry mask and returned the hug smiling, until she jolted back.

''Ow !'' She shouted as her brother grimaced, clasping his hands on his belly.

Hiccup panicked and helped him straighten up.

''What is it ? What's wrong ?''

''She… She kicked me.'' Joke said, agape.

''Yeah, I felt it too.'' Astrid assured before smiling proudly. ''She's gonna be the Hel of a viking, I tell you !''

Hiccup smiled and let his hands on the pregnant belly. He didn't really know if he espected to be kicked too, but the vibrations sufficed to let him feel this little being. He smiled and kissed his husband again, this time in the hair.

''I won't be long and, when all of this is over, we'll welcome properly this little warrior.''

''Hey, lovebirds !'' Eret called them out from the back of Skullcrusher ''It's time to go !''

Astrid taped her chief's arm and ran to the others. One last look with his beloved and Hiccup did the same.

Before taking off, Toothless crooned something to his family, who gathered around Joke. Lumiverse chirped in reply before closing her eyes in delight as her rider stroke the side of her neck, near her sensitive spot. To her paws, the five Night Lights were still wrestling and playing.

Hiccup smiled seeing them all together. A thought crossed his mind and warmed his heart : the dragons were also part of his family. They were one single family.


	16. Gathering

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 16  
****Gathering**

Two days had elapsed since the departure of the dragon riders to gather the allies. They had decided to split in smaller groups so they could reach more clans in the same time.

Elska, Snotlout and Reekfrid were going towards the Dragon Edge to rally the Wingmaiden and the Defensors of the Wings.

Astrid, the twins and Loathfetor were going south-east, seeking for the Berserkers and the Meathead, they closest neighbors from former Berk.

Hiccup, Fishlegs and Eret were going to see if the first visit of L League to the Bearclaw had been enough to make them allies, and convince them to join them in battle.

Everyone agreed for Hiccup to take care of this peculiar case since he was the most capable to changing minds. They had also agreed for Team A to remain on New Berk and protect it if needed.

Each team knew it was a time trial. Without the raiders to lead Kosmozis' men into false tracks, there would find New Berk more easily, so the dragon riders had to make sure to come back before their enemies.

Each of them was in a hurry and remained focus on their task, but those who have stayed on the fortress island, it was nothing but waiting, and it was the worst.

Despite of this, Joke kept himself busy. Helped by Gobber, Spitelout, Mulch, Bucket and Goathi – in the limits of what the elder could still do – they were the village's management in the stead of their missing chief.

It was not easy because everyone was talking about Hiccup, using him as an excuse to complain if the tasks were not completed as efficiantly as if the young chief had done it, but they had to deal with it.

After all, the villagers didn't have the right to reproach the acting chiefs for not being used to this kind of duties. Only two of them were granted excuses. Gobber had to take care of his smithy too, and Joke being pregnant had to take it easy.

Surprisingly, once Joke was going to an house were they needed help, the vikings were already calmed down by just seeing him with his growing belly and the Light Fury who was now always by his side to keep an eye on him.

They were really thankful for the young man to scramble for them despite his condition, and it often filled them with guilty. Joke suspected it was the reason why Gobber had made him in charge of smoothing the conflicts, not because he had the tact most vikings lacked.

Still, going from one part of the village to the other was getting really tiring on him. He still didn't complain about it. Lumiverse had took the habit to leave her hatchlings at the shed, under the good care of a Deadly Nadder couple, so she could accompany him everywhere.

Joke was really grateful for her to watch over him, and made her know that by stroking and thanking her everytime she was doing something for him. She was always walking by his side, she was stoping and waiting for him when she was getting to fast for him, she was cooing to him encouragingly when she was feeling him tire. Sometimes, she was even pushing obstacles out of his way, such as branches, boxes, even peebles he could hurt his feet on.

She really was pampering him all day long and, by sunset, she was walking him home, then coming back to her hatchlings to get them back to the cove. Joke used to find some time to visit them, he didn't like the idea to separate Lumiverse from them, and it reassured Gobber to see him take some break. Actually, the black-smith didn't like seing him work so hard in his condition. It was worrying him even if Goathi had promised to keep an eye on him.

Three days after the riders' leaving, the first team came back. Astrid, Loathfetor and the twins had recruited a lot of people. The Berserkers had send twenty of their finest riders, led by Heather herself, the clan chieftess, and also a good friend of Astrid.

The Meatheads were not a really numerous clan and only had on their island dragons from Boulder and Tydal class, yet they still joined the fight. Only seven warriors were there, but they were riding were powerful dragons : Catastrophic Quaken and Scauldrons. They also brough a great asset for all allies of Berk : a Shellfire.

Those giant tydal dragons had powerful cannonball-sized plasma charges and only one specimen was enough to destroy a whole island. This dragon had actually been rescued from a group of barbars who wanted to use him as a weapon, earning the Meatheads complete loyalty from the mighty beast they treated almost like a god.

However, the riders were also bringing bad news. On the way to the Meathead island, they had passed by former Berk, and saw with horror it had been destroyed, burned down to ashes. There was no remain of the village and only scorched earth were once layed green forests. They couldn't be sure of it, but they were convinced it was Kosmozis' work, he sure had been infuriated not to find their new location.

Finding an explanation did not sooth the vikings' shock. For all they loved their new island and couldn't stop saying it was more comfy, resourceful and spacy than the previous one, they still had born and grown up in former Berk so the place was a peculiar part of their heart.

On ce she was back, not even taking some time to rest from the trip, Astrid joined the acting chiefs. After all, they had to welcome their allies and settle them. Joke had never been found of all the politics and diplomatic exchanges and had never been at ease for public speeches, so he had to take on himself to do so in Hiccup's absence.

Astrid recommended him to wear a large and thick cloak in order to hide his belly. A pregnant man maybe be not something strange in the Storm family, but it was for other people, and they couldn't risk to scare off their allies.

The following days promised to be quite harsh for the chief's husband, but his sister was there to support him until the two other teams get back. Three more days were enough for Elska, Snotlout and Reekfrid to come back, but noone was able to say how long the last team's mission will last. They didn't know the Bearclaw clan enough to say it.

o*o*o*o*o*o

The trip had been long and pretty harsh due to a storm coming down from the north, forcing the three riders to make a stop, waiting for the strong wind to drop. The trip was supposed to take two days but was getting longer. Hiccup hated the idea to linger, but Eret assured him it was better getting back home later than never.

Hiccup could have ignore him if it was not for this spark of worry in his hazelnut eyes. After all, Eret was part of their clan since his 'adoption', and now he was building a relationship with Astrid, he was more linked to them than ever. He had as many reason as Hiccup to get back home in one piece, to get back to the young strong lady Hiccup called friend and sister-in-law.

Eret patted his shoulder in comfort and turned back to watch the storm. The three riders and their dragons had landed on a rocky isle and had found shelter in a cave. The onyl animals there were bats they had spotted in the depth of the cave, with which they had kept a safety distance to not disturb them.

The wind was roaring outside, almost flat, carrying pourring rain as heavy as the worst tempest on former Berk. Lightning and thunder were pursuing each other while the light remained in the thick cover of clouds, far enough from the earth to avoid danger.

The real danger was the wind, so strong, so powerful and furious Fishlegs even doubted Stormcutters could venture in it.

''We're about a few hours from the Bearclaw territory.'' Eret stated. ''We can wait for the storm to calm down before resuming our travel.''

Hiccup nodded in agreement, the dragons needed some rest anyway, judging how fast Toothless had fallen asleep once they sat. Skullcrusher was looking intently at the raging storm outside while Meatlug was drowsing while serving as couch for her uneasy rider.

He was fidgeting his fingers nervously, his breath unsteady and quick.

''It's okay Fishlegs. It's just a storm, it will pass.'' Hiccup reassured him.

''I'm not worried about the tempest, Hiccup. What if we are doing this for nothing ?''

''What do you mean ?''

''We're not even sure the Bearclaw clan want peace with the dragons. The first expedition didn't have to fight with them, but they still evacuated the dragons-''

''Not all of them.'' Eret corrected. ''Most of them stayed there, we only evacuated the village's surroundings.''

''Maybe, it's still not encouraging.''

Even if he didn't want to admit it, his stout friend's anxiety rubbed off on Hiccup. It was true the Bearclaw clan was not giving any garantee to change their mind about dragons, maybe they were traveling this far for nothing, but they still had to try.

''What do you think about it, Eret ? You went there already.''

''Honestly, I don't know. Their chief has a past with dragons, and villagers are united. I don't think Scarlar the Hunter is completely against the idea, but it will take time to convince him.''

''Regarding Kosmozis' resources, we have to try.'' Hiccup concluded before turning back to Fishlegs.

The dragon lover blond viking didn't seem convinced, his hesitant look spoke enough.

''We need all the help we can get.'' Hiccup claimed. ''The Bearclaw cla nhad dreadful warriors, even without the help of the dragons.''

''Hiccup is right.'' Eret added. ''Even if they don't agree with us about dragons, we need their arms and weapons.''

''… I hope you guys are right.'' Fishlegs finally replied. ''I don't like the idea to be away from home that long.''

Hiccup could only agree on that. He stood and joined Eret next to the entrance of the cave. If the former trapper was looking to east, watching for the slightest sign the storm was dissipating, Hiccup looked straight to west. He pictured the face of the person he left there and was hoping to find again soone. He wondered how things were going on on New Berk.

Without him knowing this, at the exact same moment, Joke was doind the same thing as him, looking at the horizon, thinking of him, wondering how he was doing, hoping everything was fine and that they would be reunited soon.

Wrapped in a thick fur cover, he had sat on a tree stump, a few steps from the edge of the cliff, looking as the rising sun coming out of the ocean and painting the sky with smooth blue and pink colors. Exceptionally, Lumiverse had stayed with him for the night. Since the previous day had tired him so much Joke had been barely able to walk home on his own, she had helped Astrid get him to his hutt and had refused to leave him since she was too worried.

Astrid had stayed too, she had fallen asleep in a chair Gobber had crafted two days prior so the pregnant man could sit and stand easier than if he did on the edge of the bed. Joke had woken up in the middle of the night because of a slight pain in the belly, caused by the weight of the baby, and had smiled seeing his sister there.

He had put a cover on her so she wouldn't get cold and left the house, followed by his dragon. Lumiverse hadn't really slept, watching for a sign her rider was waking up to make sure he was okay.

This little walk to the cliff reassured her, allowing her to lay against the stump an dfinally close her eyes and sleep for the three hours they remained there. The cold air of New Berk was stimulating, mostly during the night, making him forget about his tiredness and allowing him to clear his ideas.

As he was contemplating the landscaping of the dawn, he heard faint footsteps coming close. Astrid stoped next to him, tightening her grip on the fur she had wrapped around her shoulders, and looked at the sunrise too. A comfortable silence surrounded them for a few minutes, the only sounds were the early birds chirping, the waves crashing down bellow against the cliff, and the steady breathing of the sleeping Light Fury.

When a chilly wind brushed upon them, Astrid shivered and finally talked.

''Still ahving troubles to sleep ?''

''No, I was just thinking. Thinking of Hiccup.''

Astrid eyes him for a couple seconds.

''He'll come back, don't worry.''

''I'm not worried, just impatient.'' He smiled softly while stroking his belly.

The movement of his hand under the cover didn't go unnoticed by his sister. She made use of the large size of the stump to sit against him, trying to share some warmth.

''I assume you've got some ideas about her name ?'' She inquired with a little smile, nudging his shoulder.

That made him smile and chuckle.

''Maybe, yes. But Id' like your opinion about it before telling him. I think this idea is double-edged, I'm not sure it will make him happy or angry.''

Astrid got curious about it.

''Spil it.'' She said, saving her opinion for later.

''I'd like to name our daughter Valka, after his mother.''

Astrid felt touched hearing this, and couldn't help but smile. That was so her brother to think this way, but since she also knew Hiccup, she understood his hesitation. Her smile faded a bit and got filled with awkwardness.

''You know how he is. I think he'll be touched but won't accept it though. He might not want your daughter to try and live up to the woman she's named after.''

Joke nodded in understanding, but he still felt a bit disappointed. He lowered his head and looked at his plump belly, his hands around him stroking the nightshirt he was wearing.

''What about using it as her second name ?'' Astrid proposed, smiling softly.

As she had expected, it gave back his good mood to her brother, drawing on his face his characterictic smirk and this mischievous spark in his eyes.

o*o*o*o*o*o

Hiccup woke up in a jolt as someone shook him. He calmed down recognizing Eret, and sat up to look up at his built friend.

''The storm has dissipated enough, we can resume our journey.''

''Great. Can you wake up Fishlegs while I make sure Toothless' gear is ready ?''

Eret nodded and headed to their common friend, who was snoring louder than his usual thin voice would foretell.

Hiccup stroked his best friend's scaly head and met lime green eyes and a soft vibrating sound.

''Let's go, bud, we're alsmot there.''

The dragon let out a gargling noise and got up without waiting. The dragon seemed as impatient as his rider to complete their mission and get back home, to their family.


	17. For a child

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 17  
****For a child**

The journey delayed by the storm, the three dragon riders were now on their third day away from home, and they only reached their destination by noon, in a thick fog that almost prevented them from seeing the barbarian islands were the Bearclaw clan lived.

Avoiding to scare off the locals, they decided to land away from the villages and finish by foot. They had spotted three villages but went to the bigge one, where they had more chances to find the clan chief.

Preparing themselves for a harsh welcome, they left their dragons in the forest and removed their helmets to show they were humans and not demons. They went out of the wood and quietly walked among the houses. Well, Hiccup and Eret were quiet, Fishlegs was completely stressed out.

The houses were quite different from the berkians. Where the vikings were building their hutts entirely in wood, this clan rather use piles of rocks and let moss spread on the roofs. Pieces of furr and leather were hanging by the door frames and windows, visibly serving to overshadow the outside light without stopping the air. It seemed quite handy seeing how the air was dry in this part of the archipelago.

The villagers were eyeing cautiously the new incomers, some of them had their hands on their weapons without unsheathing them. Eret wanted to shield his chief but Hiccup walked ahead and rose his hands to show they weren't harmful.

''Don't worry, we're not here to do any harm. We come in peace, we only want to talk to your chief, Scarlar the Hunter.

He only had the name from Eret, since it was the first time he was coming, he was counting on his friend to identify the man. As the vikings surrounding them still seemed distrustful, one of them stepped forward. Almost as tall as Eret, his shoulders were respectful but has enough fat over his muscles to make him look nice, like Gobber. He glared at them with clear distrust, putting on his shoulder a large cudgel which would have suffice to break Fishlegs bones.

''Who are you ?'' He asked.

Hiccup understood why he was asking, it was logical the villagers would back up their chief, trying to protect him from outsiders, especially weird outsiders dressed in scaled armors.

''Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, chief of the Hairy Hooligans clan, from Berk. You may know me under another name : the Dragon Master."

Gasps escaped from the crowd, the villagers were clearly surprised. The man with the cudgel didn't show it on his face and only turned his head to the hutt behind him, which he seemed to guard. Another man stepped out of it, pushing aside the two pieces of leather hanging from on the door frame.

Despite a large belly, he also had respectful build, and the muscles of his arms could easily compete with Eret's. The man seemed in his middle fourty he had short dirty blond hair, simple clothes that were the same as the other villagers, but he was wearing a peculiar hat. Judging by the claws hanging from it, it was made with a bear paw, and the claws were trying to hide the scars circling his left eye, eye that was closed and seemed unable to open ever again.

''Berk, you say ?'' He wondered.

Hiccup stood with a solemn and diplomatic posture, then nodded as a reply. It was obvious this man was Scalar the Hunter, even if he hadn't the clothes of a chief, he had this presence and confident tone.

''Do you have any acquaintance with the white-haired warlock ?''

From the corner of his eye, the young chief of Berk noticed the surprised look his two comrades gave each other. He remained as stoic as possible, simply waiting for the man's reaction.

''Yes, we do.'' Hiccup answered.

The chief's expression changed as he looked at Eret, whom he pointed.

''Yeah, I do recognize you. Please, come in.''

Without letting them say anything, he went back inside the house, signing them to follow. The three riders looked at each other for a short moment, seeing everyone going back to their business seemed encouraging.

When they stepped inside the house, they noticed the indoor was just as rustic and simple as the outdoor. It may have been the chief's hutt, the man was leaving the same way of life than his people, just like Hiccup was doing back at Berk. It warmed his heart, he always had better relationships with people thinkign like him, which was why he had some troubles maintaining good exchanges with the clans where the leader was above the people, like the queen Mala from the Denfensor of the Wings or the queen of the Wingmaiden. They were still good allies, but less of good acquaintances.

The three riders found the chief at the first story, where he was waiting for them without any mistrust left. Leaning on the window frame, he was looking outside, downward. They could hear the usual commotion of the village, voices talking, wooden weels on earth paths, hammer hiting metal, chirping bird, laughing children, even a dog barking.

A small smile was playing on the chief's mouth, but he wiped it to be serious and faced the three outsiders, crossing his arms over his muscular chest.

''I suppose you came back to get an answer. Your men had talked about alliance last time they came here.''

''Sort of.'' Hiccup admitted.

The chief sighed and ran a hand in his short hair, removing his hat and unveiling the expend of his scars. It was not just on his eye, it was running along the skull to reach behind his ear. The three gashes didn't look like of a dragon, rather of a bear. Hiccup concluded it was the past this chief had with dragons.

''Honestly, I'm still not sure about your story with dragons.'' Scarlar said.

The quick glance he took to Hiccup's fake leg didn't go unnoticed, it seemed to serve as an adding argument to refusal, but the young chief didn't let it bother him.

''Dragons aren't that different from us, they can become violent and attack if they feel threaten, that doesn't make them bloody monsters, they just defend themselves. All you need to do is make the first step and show them you're not a threat. You could be surprised to see what a dragon can do for you once you've earned his trust.''

Hiccup wanted to keep on his speech, but a slight nudge from Eret cut him out. The former trapper gave him an insistant look which seemed a bit saddened. He had to admit he didn't know what that meant, so the green eyes went back to the other chief to check on his reaction. Hiccup wanted to make sure he hadn't said something that hurt him. The chief didn't seemed hurt, actually, but angry.

His fists were clenched and his eyebrows knitted together.

''It was the dragon who deprived my daughter of her legs. You should guess this is not something I can forgive that easily.''

Hiccup pinched his lips in embarrassment, unable to answer. So this was the past he had with dragons ?

Understanding Hiccup was not aware of this, neither the stout blond viking behind him - whose horrified and pained look almost made him sad – Scarlar sighed and leant back on the window frame, ready to tell the events. Eret lowered his head all along, hearing this story once again had the eaxt same effect than the first time : it clenched to his heart.

Scalar told them how his daughter Stewhilde, who was ten years old back then, had always enjoyed walking into the forest. Her mother was dead while giving her birth, which explained why the little girl was the most precious treasure of the chief, and the village. So, when they heard her scream and a dragon roar, all of them went to her rescue. The dragon had fled, but they had found the girl stuck under a tree, her back was broken. Since that day, she had lost the use of her legs, and all joy faded from her heart.

Hiccup felt really bad hearing this. He couldn't imagine what he would have felt if it had happened to him. The girl was pretty young when it had happened, and for the three following years, she had stayed in a sluggish state, lethargic even. It was as if she was dead, unable to feel any joy, barely talking.

''Do you have children, chief Hiccup ?'' Scarlar suddenly asked, looking at him dead in the eye.

Hiccup tried to chase away the sadness in his heart, but it was written all over his face.

''Yes. A daughter. She will be born in a couple of months.''

''So you know what is this unconditional love. You must already feel it, and understand a father is capable of anything for his daughter to be happy. Now, imagine that, despite everything you could do, it's not enough.''

Hiccup froze in spot, as if an arrow had been shot directly in his heart. It felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest, and was twisting the dagger again and again to make sure the pain stayed vivid. Even if his daughter was not born yet, he could understand Scarlar's pain, because he was trying to bury deep inside the same kind of pain. His own was not only concerning his daughter's happiness, but her survival. His pain was this sickening dread Kosmozis could kill her along wih Joke, this sickening dread he could never even meet her.

His thoughts came to an end as they suddenly heard a laughter coming from outside, just under the window. The chief Scarlar turned his head there, looked downward again, and sighed heavily before smiling softly. The three riders eyed each other astounded, and Hiccup didn't know what to think as Eret was as surprised as Fishlegs and him.

When Scarlar signed them to come closer, they did it with hesitation, Hiccup the first one to reach the window. Down bellow, they looked at the young teenage girl. She was sitting in a wooden chair with wheels, and was laughing with all her heart while playing with a dog. Hiccup recognized the device. It looked exactly like the one he had designed back on former Berk for the little Mosskitoe, enabling him to move around while he had a cast on his broken leg.

He wondered how the Bearclaw clan could had have the same device, then the explaination hit him. It could only be the L League. He asked the question to Eret with his eyes, who shrugged as a reply, then both looked back to Scarlar. He was smiling kindly at the teenager. Everything seemed to prove she was his daughter Stewhilde, but she didn't look like the description he had made of her. She was neither lethargic nor depressed, she was joyful.

''I don't think I can join your alliance, chief Hiccup.'' Scarlar added. ''I'd like to believe dragons are more than fericious beasts and that peace is possible with them, but I can't just let go of what I feel and forget about what they did to Stewhilde.''

Hiccup listened in silence, he felt like Scarlar was aiming to say something else, but it felt difficult for him, so he decided to not push him. The Bearclaw chief straightened, half a head taller than the younger one, but he looked at him with humility.

''However, I feel indebted to your warlock. I don't know exactly how he did it, I first thought he had cursed her, but he gave my daughter back to me. Since he had visited us and made our black-smith build this chair, it's like she has reborn. I didn't see her smile for three years, and now it's happening almost everyday.''

Listening to the chief's emotion-filled-talk and kind look at the laughing girl, who was playing fetch with the dog, Hiccup felt his heart warm up, he also felt proud. Endlessly proud of his husband. With only one visit, whereas he had the mission to preach peace with dragons, Joke had taken care of a little girl that life had broken, and helped her getting better.

He surely was a healer. Even if Hiccup had played a role in this story for designing the wheel chair, the young chief refused to earn any credit for it. A smile as warm as the other chief's spread on his face. When both chiefs looked at each other, Hiccup could read in his brown eyes all the gratefulness Scarlar was feeling. Said chief even slightly bowed to him.

''I don't think I'm ready to make peace with dragons, but I am really thankful to your clan warlock. I'm indebted on honor, and I'd like to pay it back.''

''Joke.'' Hiccup said.

Scarlar gave him a confused look, he was certainly fearing Hiccup thought his gratefulness was only a joke, but Hiccup still smiled proudly.

''His name is Joke. He's not a warlock, he has dragon blood.''

Berk's young chief didn't have any fear about revealing this fact to that man. Actually, he considered it a way to convince Scarlar that dragons weren't all that bad. Seeing his reaction, Hicup was proved right. The Bearclaw chief seemed to be really thoughtful, all of a sudden. He may still have some troubles to get rid of his bad feelings, but it looked like peace was finally starting to gain back his heart.

Hiccup took the risk to put a hand on his shoulder, a pretty friendly gesture for two men who had just met.

''Joke would surely tell you to move on from this debt and only care for Stewhilde, but I can't agree with him.''

Scarlar rose an eyebrow, suddenly more serious. Hiccup knew he had picked his attention, and wheres he was not usually opportunist, he rather make use of this debt.

''I offer you the possibility to pay back your debt, and show you the way to befriend the dragons.''

Scarlar step back with a frown that seemed suspicious, distrustful. For a second, Hiccup feared he had ruined his chance to convince him, but his question reassured him.

''Why would you do this ? What do you gain from it ?''

Hiccup let go of his previous fear and breathed in to gain back his stoicism. He knew he had to keep his head up when negociating with other clans. However, while his brain was searching for good arguments to explain the situation, his heart remained stronger than his mind. Worry sank out of his features and added weight to his words.

''Our clan is in danger, that's why we came here. To seek help. A powerful enemy threathen our dragons, our way of life and my dearest persons.''

Scarlar dropped his presence and distrust, looking at him with renewed sadness, just like the one he felt when he told them his daughter's story. Behind the young chief, Eret and Fishlegs were both tensed. They didn't really dare to step into this conversation, but they were worried about their chief using emotions unstead of reason to convince their potential ally. Fishlegs highly doubted one warrior would accept to follow someone that sensitive, but he was proven wrong.

Scarlar had talked to them about his daughter with his open heart and, visibly, Hiccup doing the same touched him. And when Berk's chief decided to unveil the last pieces of secrety about him and the 'warlock' - the fact he was his husband and the bearer of his daughter – that was all they needed to convince the Bearclaw clan to join them in battle.


	18. Endgame

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 18  
****Endgame**

The three dragon riders had to take a bit more time before heading back to New Berk. While the fierce warriors of the Bearclaw clan were readying their weapons, armors and war ships, Hiccup, Eret and Fishlegs ventured into the woods of the barbaric islands to seek for the inhabiting dragons. Despite the undoubted strength of a Rumplehorn, a Gronckle and a Night Fury, it was not enough to carry Scarlar's ships.

So the three riders needed a bit more time to find the dragons, reassure them and convince them to help. After all, wild dragons were not used to be harnessed and carry loads. It was only thanks to Toothless' Alpha title that the Changewing hord followed them.

Flying in a perfectly clear sky with a back wind helping them to travel faster, Hiccup looked back to their convoy. Seven ships, roughtly fifty warriors and about thirty Changewings had joined them. Despite the proudness of this gathering, Hiccup also felt ashamed to have forced these dragons. He vowed to release them once the battle was over.

Fishlegs spend a good half of the journey to apologize to his chief and friend for doubting about this mission, and complimenting him for the way he had convinced Scarlar to help. Hiccup had tried to stop him, amused, but Fishlegs had kept on the praises, simply adressing them to Eret, who exchanged a amused look with Hiccup.

Going back was way more easier than leaving New Berk since there was no more storm to slow them down, but it was still long for the homesick hearts of the berkians. Two days of traveling, one night to get some rest on the island they judged most comfortable for their camp, a diner to get to know Scarlar while giving him more details about the enemy they were about to fight against.

Scarlar had heard too about the Slaughterhouse, but he was far from knowing it was only a cover to exile the dragons to an underground world and felt pity for them. Hiccup discovered the soft side of Scarlar was not only adressed to his daughter, but to his own clan and, somehow, to the dragons too. The man, under this image of dreadful hunter and warrior, had his own sensitivity.

Hiccup didn't doubt he would eventually join the alliance and forgive the dragons but, like Eret had told him, it would take some time. Joining the battle alonside dragon riders was surely a good way to help him get close to the winged creatures, starting with the ones carrying his army. The Changewings were all spread around the camp, like sentinels and bodyguards.

Where it was time to sleep, Hiccup wrapped himself under furr covers and closed his eyes, picturing his return to home, and how he would be reunited with Joke. Six days had spent since they had left New Berk, a little less than a week, but it felt like months for Hiccup.

He pictured the slime frame of his husband near the west cliff, waiting for his return. He pictured his bright smile when he would see him, his blue eyes sparkling with joy. He pictured the young man running to take him in his arms while Toothless and Lumiverse would be reunited in the same affection, before the Night Lights would ruin their reunion with their endless energy.

It made him smile as sleep was slowly getting him.

''Soon, babe.'' He whispered to himself. ''I'll be back to you very soon.''

Then the wind blew gently on his face, a light caress which seemed to promise to carry his words to the one they were adressed to.

o*o*o*o*o*o*o

A thick layer of grey clouds followed the convoy in the morning of the sixth day. They were only a few hours left from New Berk, yet the weather was so bad they doubted they could see the island in this fog. When a light rain started to pour from the sky, it irritated the dragons.

Toothless shook his head while grumbling. Hiccup bent forward and tried to wipe his friend's head, but it was helpless since the rain was still wetting him. Another violent headshake detered the viking from helping, but it felt odd. Toothless had never been very found of the rain, but never before did it had made him that grumpy. It seemed to tell something else, and it was proven right when Hiccup spotted Eret struggling with a pretty agitated Skullcrusher.

''Hey, big guy ! What's the matter ? Okay, calm down !''

The dragon growled with a vibrating noise that didn't sound nice, making Toothless grumble even more.

''Chief Hiccup !'' Scarlar called out from the ship being the riders. ''What's wrong ?''

''I don't know, the dragons are irritated !'' He yelled back so he could be heard through the rain.

To make sure, he looked at the Changewings, noticed they also were crabbed. It couldn't be just the rain.

''They must feel something !''

''Hiccup !'' Fishlegs shouted.

The blond viking pointed something in front of them, leading Hiccup's gaze there. He could have guessed a lot of things, including a new storm, but he would have been wrong.

Throught the rain and fog, they managed to spot their fortress-island, closer than expected, but also pretty eventful. Much to their dismay, the countless ships surrounding the island were not from their allies, because said allies were scattered in the sky, attacking said ships.

''Oh no...'' Eret gasped. ''Kosmozis' here !''

Hiccup felt his heart go up in his throat. The battle seemed to have started for a while, he didn't dare to imagine how long. A feeling of dread and emergency filled him, forcing him to speed up so the convoy would quickly join the battle.

The more they were getting closer, the more they could see the chaos going on. The trapper ships were circling a group of different ships which black and golden banner foretold their origin before even seeing the symbol of an Eruptodon. The Defensors of the Wings. The warriors onboard seemed to have a lot of difficulties fighting back, but they could count on a Razorwhip squad to protect them, surely from the Wingmaiden.

Other groups of dragons from all species were attacking as they could, trying to keep their enemies away from the island, and away from a gigantic Shellfire which was making the trapper have a hard time.

Hiccup felt proud to see all their allies work together in such cohesion, helping each other as soon as someone was in danger.

He turned back to Scarlar's ship and yelled so he could be heard.

''Scarlar ! We'll deposit your ships as close as we can ! Help the Defensors of the Wings and protect the Shellfire !''

''Right, chief ! We'll follow you 'til the end of the battle ! May the Gods be with you !''

''No, may the Gods be with _us _!''

Scarlar smirked and roared the Berclaw war cry, followed by his men from the other ships, brandishing their weapons.

Hiccup spoke to this dragon, who relayed the order to the Changewings. With one roar from the king of dragons, they started to descend to sea level while the three riders went up towards the island.

''What do we do, chief ?'' Eret asked, concern in his voice.

''The trappers can't reach our island, but Kosmozis can with his dragons ! We have to locate him and make sure he can't get to Joke !''

''Watch out !'' Fishlegs screamed.

The Gronckle sped up and bumped into he Night Fury, hard enough to push him away and avoid a net Hiccup had not seen coming.

''Thanks, Fishlegs !''

The stut blond viking nodded in reply, then they moved back to their formation and reached the village. No damaged had been done, they were too much high and far from the edge to be reachable, but panick was there. Hiccup barely had the time to dismount Toothless before a group of dragons joined them, he recognized the dragon riders.

''Hiccup !'' Elska shouted.

The young chief ran to her but got distanced by Eret, rushing to hug Astrid.

''We came back as soon as we could.'' The built viking said to his girlfriend.

She didn't replied but hugged him back, she seemed so relieved.

''When did they arrive ?'' Hiccup asked his mother-in-law just after breaking their own hug.

Elska let go of him and forgot her relief to get back to the situation at hand.

''Less than an hour ago.'' Her voice was distorted by the helmet she still had on, like the other riders. ''They used the fog to hide from our scouts.''

''Has someone seen Kosmozis ? And where is Joke ?!''

''We sent him to safety.'' Astrid assured. ''He's with Lumiverse and the Night Lights, they must have gone to Crescent cove.''

That's how they had name the cove the Fury family had settled in.

''Aww, is he ?'' A voice exclaimed from above them.

They all started and looked up to see some strange cross-shaped structure in the blind light of the sun piercing the clouds, carried by four black and red dragons, and escorted by two others.

Kosmozis was there, just above their head. If it hasn't been for his voice echoing in the sky and the characteristic shape of his flying platform, the riders would have had troubles to recognize him since he was pretty far from them. He was snickering with content, leaning on the big arbalet attached to the platform. Something seemed different about the structure, and it didn't took long for Hiccup to notice what.

There was two nets hanging from it, like traps, and they weren't empty. In the left one were a white dragon, tied up and muzzled, hanging lifelessly as if unconscious. In the other one was a much smaller frame, as light and as motionless.

Hiccup froze on spot and swore his heart had stopped beating : it was Lumiverse and Joke. They were both at Kosmozis' mercy !

''NO !'' He screamed.

The general laughed at it and whistled to his dragons for them to leave. Without thinking, even if he had no chance to catch up with them, Hiccup ran after them.

He ran to the extend he could have make his lungs explode, followed closely by Toothless and other voices that sounded panicked. When Kosmozis' flying structure went upward, dragging the two prisoners, Toothless tried to shoot a plasma blast at it, but the chains stood.

''Our little game comes to an end. Thank you for giving me my prince along with the Alpha's mate, will be pretty useful.''

At least, Kosmozis had expected he had win, but it was not counting on the dragons.

Toothless took off, calling out all the dragons for attack. They got out of the woods and the battlefield, leaving their fight to answer their king's call, and all headed to the flying structure, but Kosmozis had not said his last word either. In the nests, Lumiverse woke up dizzily and instantly struggled, she particularly hated this muzzle the general had put on her head, which unabled her to even open her mouth.

Kosmozis pointed his arbalet to her.

''Call them off, Alpha ! No reason for her to die too.''

Toothless froze as he saw this, and gave the order without hesitation. The dragons stopped, keeping steady. Hiccup remained on spot too, frozen in fright, looking up at the structure out of his reach. He felt like he couldn't move anymore, each breath in and out was tearing off his throat and lungs. Each heart beat was making his chest tremble with pain.

Kosmozis had Joke. He had Joke and their child… He was going to kill them, and he couldn't do anything to stop him. He had promised to protect his family, and he had failed. He was powerless, helpless, useless, just like when his father had been killed. He couldn't do anything.

He barely noticed the commotion around him. He was joined by his friends, but all dragons were in the sky. Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Elska, Eret, Gobber and the twins were now behind him.

''What are they doing ? They can totally take him !'' Snotlout grunted.

''Not with Lumiverse's life on the line.'' Hiccup managed to say.

But still, Toothless wasn't going to give up. He turned to the Deathgrippers flying around the prisoners. He roared at them, but none of them reacted to the call of the Alpha.

''Save your breath ! The only Alpha they respond to is me !'' Kosmozis snarled.

Toothless understood it was vain, and he was out of ideas, so he glanced at Hiccup with a pleading look. Surely his best friend had an idea to save their family ?

''Oh, don't feel too badly, you tried your best but you are nothing without the dragons !'' Kosmozis laughed at the young chief.

He whistled to the Deathgrippers, the four carrying the platform started to fly away while the other two kept the dragons in place.

However, once Toothless started to follow them, all the other dragons did too, leaving with their Alpha. Kosmozis smiled at it, he had the perfect bait for the Night Fury. He had not really intended to get the dragons from Berk, all he was focused on was killing Storm prince. He wasn't expecting on capturing the Alpha's queen, so he congratulated himself for this good work.

He was even more satisfied to notice that the dragons from all the allied clan were following the Alpha, following him.

So he led all of them above the ocean, towards the fleet. The only advantage of the situation was the fact the battle had stopped, the ships from the Denfensors of the Wing were no long targeted while those from the Bearclaw had been dropped too far because of Toothless' call. They were trying to get closer as fast as possible.

On the island, the Hairy Hooligans, the Bersekers, the Meatheads and the Wingmaiden, all abandoned by their dragons, watched powerlessly as their winged friends were going farther away from them, getting themselves in the lion's den. Most of the warriors were down below, trapped on enemies' ships or trying to swim to allies as they had fallen into the ocean.

Hiccup ran to the edge of the cliff to desperately scream his dears' names, leaving the rest of the group a few steps behind.

''Oh, that is just… great !'' Tuffnut said with sarcasm. ''Now what ?''

Snotlout puffed out his chest and pushed Eret aside.

''Guess it's time for number 2 to become number 1.''

Astrid frowned and threaten him with her fist, making him start and back, then she stopped as Elska put a hand on her shoulder.

''He'll listen to you.'' She assured, gesturing to Hiccup.

Astrid, despite the worry and the pain in her heart, nodded and walked to the young chief. She knew all too well how he felt, because they had already talked about it, she may was the only one to really know what was going on inside his head.

Hiccup was pacing back and forth with irritation and distress, at the edge of the cliff, he didn't even stopped when he saw her. She didn't have the time to open her mouth as he cut her with a pretty annoyed voice.

''How did that happen ?! You guys left Joke alone, nobody thought about escorting him to make sure he was really safe ?!''

Even if she could understand his anger, she didn't like his accusations and frowned.

''Of course he was escorted ! Fungus, Rasok, Mulch and Bucket were with him ! You don't have the right to blame us like this, you weren't there and-''

''That's the problem, Astrid ! I wasn't there...''

Astrid let go of her own anger as she saw tears in his eyes, she felt her heart shatter.

''We should have never leave, we shouldn't have split up ! We should have seen them coming !'' Hiccup growled.

''And we wouldn't have been able to fight back. Hiccup, we have federated five clans more than our to fight-''

''And now four of them are stuck in this island while the other two will be killed down there without any of us could do anything about it !''

Hiccup was very angry, he failed to hold back an infuriated shout, barely muffled by his gritted teeth.

''I feel just as useless as I was the first time we fought Kosmozis ! I feel like the same screw-up I was before I met Toothless.''

''I can see that.''

''Is that all you have to say ?!'' He snapped.

He got so angry because he had hoped she could give him some comfort or self-confidence.

''Well, you're right, you're back to where you started, but let me remind you Joke had always believed in you. Back then, too.''

He pinched his lips and kept his eyebrows furowed, refusing to look at her, but at least he had stopped pacing.

''I didn't know back then, but he made me realise you've been doubting whether you're worthy ever since. You know what ? I am the person I am today because of you. I never told you that, but it's true, and I'm not the only one to owe you that, Hiccup. We all are.''

She gestured to the others down below, adding the other clans to what she was saying.

''If our clans have this way of life today, it's thanks to you, not Toothless. You are the bravest, most stubborn, most determined… knucklehead I know. And you have always been, with or without Toothless.''

He hesitated for a second, then turned his head to his friend. He seemed calmer, but Astrid wasn't finished yet.

''And I know that's what Joke loves in you.''

Hearing this name, Hiccup's heart shattered again.

''Toothless didn't give you that, Hiccup, he just made it easier. Now, it's gonna be a lot harder, that's all, but you're still as capable as before.''

Hiccup straightened up and looked at the horizon, filled with a whole new determination which made his friend relieved.

''So, what are you gonna do about it ?'' She asked with a hint of nostalgia.

''Probably something stupid.'' He smiled at the hint.

''That's the Hiccup I know.'' She smiled with proud. ''Now get back my little brother before I beat the shit out of you.''

She punched his arm, making him smile faintly, then both turned back to the rest of the group.

''Suit up, gang !'' Hiccup told them. ''We're going to get them back !''

If Elska smiled softly at him, the others remained hesitant.

''What ?'' Fishlegs whispered.

''He's lost his mind.'' Ruffnut eye rolled.

Tuffnut beamed at it and hugged him without a warning.

''Now _that_'s daddy material ! At last, faithful pupil, you are ready !''

The fake-beard man let go and shook his shoulders in encouragments, Hiccup pinched his lips and shook his hand to please him (and in hopes to get rid of him).

''Huh… How are we gonna get our dragons back without… dragons ?'' Fishlegs enquired, worried.

''Trust me.'' Hiccup simply rejoined.


	19. Battle of the clans, part 1

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 19  
****Battle of the clans**

Kosmozis' flying structure was slowly going down to the fleet. Still threatening Lumiverse's life, the general was making Toothless do everything he wanted, relaying the orders to the other dragons. So they split up on several ships, handing themselves to the trappers. The Defensors of the Wings, the Bearclaw and the different dragonless riders scattered in the water or captured by their enemies watch the sad view with broken hearts.

Lumiverse was growling on her mate and king, trying to convince him not to hand over the others in order to save her, especially since she suspected the general to not keep his word. Luckily the Night Lights were not among them, but she was starting to wonder if the Night Lights would have convinced their father to stop this all. All of this because of this stupid Kosmozis !

She already hated him with all her heart for he had almost killed her rider, and she hated even more seeing her best friend hanging in the net next to hers, tangled in it, still unconscious. She was whining in worry everytimes she landed her gaze on him. They had been caught by surprise while walking in the woods, heading to the Crescent cove.

The Deathgrippers had came out of nowhere, using their venom to drug vikings and dragons and leave with their current prisonners. Lumiverse wasn't really worried about her hatchlings, she had seen them hiding before getting drugged. She tried to convince herself the fiveth of them had manage to reach the cove and were still there.

What was really worrying her, for the moment, was what the Deathgripper's venom could have done to her wingless friend. The venom was strong, no doubt it was stronger for him as he was smaller than her, but she mostly worried about the effects it could have on the baby her best friend was bearing.

Exchanges between the two Furies were ununderstandable for humans, Kosmozis even took it for complains.

''Shut up, Alpha, it's no use to resist. Now you're all captured.''

Toothless glared at the man, he wanted so much to chop his head clean off his shoulders, this man was _daring_ to threat his family, his friends and his people.

In the mean time, from the top of New Berk's cliff, the dragon riders had gathered. All dressed in their dragon scales armor, Hiccup had added and readied fast-crafted leather wings for them all. He had explained the plan to everyone brave enough to follow him, and had been quite surprise to see how many of them they were. The dragon riders were followed by all of the Berserkers stuck in the island, ten men and women, and almost as much Meatheads.

''So… Jump off the cliff in… this. That's the best you've got ?!'' Ruffnut asked, disconcerted.

''No. You guys are the best I've got.'' Hiccup rejoined.

Ruffnut instantly fluttered her eyelashes while stroking her braids, as if it was the cutest thing anyone had ever told her. She was taking it as much a compliment as when people told her she was annoying. While Tuffnut thought it was the best time to show his chief some support, his twin sister was faster than him and stole his words.

''I'm with him, who else ?!''

''Ruffnut, that was my line !''

Hiccup chuckled and pulled his helmet over his face before rushing to the cliff.

''Let's go !''

''Try to keep up !'' Astrid teased before following him, jumping from the cliff.

They were the first to take off, quickly followed by the twins and the rest of the group, then their backups.

On the ships, the three war lords were watching the flying structure above them, slowly lowering to land on the bridge. The two prisoners were still hanging there, tangled in the chain nets. Lumiverse was snarling and struggling like imbodied madness, while Joke finally woke up. The young man's first reflex was to pull out the dart in his chest, then he panicked noticing where he was.

Lumiverse cooed to him, trying to reassure him. Marillys jolted too, them she wrapped her arms around her son. Toothless was still flying as close as he could, but with a safety gap imposed by Kosmozis. A new threat on his mate forced the Night Fury to land on the bridge.

He gave a last look to Lumiverse before doing so, then found himself surounded by armed men.

''And there is the Alpha, my dear war-lords.'' Kosmozis claimed with a chuckle. ''With him, all the dragons will follow us. And now, if you may excuse me, it's time for me to finish what I started.''

He laughed loudly and whistle to his dragons, giving them signal to leave, but Toothless didn't see it this way : he still had Lumiverse ! There was no way he was destoying ships – even if it was trappers – while this man had his mate and friend ! He got angry and loaded a shot he aimed to the flying structure, yet he was stopped as he heard a muffled voice in the air, far but hearable, a familiar voice.

''Hold on, Joke, Toothless, Lumiverse !''

Kosmozis turned around, like most of men and dragons, then spotted the gliding silhouettes descending from the island. A whole groupe that, from afar, almost looked like a shoal of bads.

''AAAAH ! Could have used some practice !'' Snotlout yelled while shaking his arms.

''Should have skipped breakfast !'' Fishlegs retorted with as much panick as nausea.

Hiccup went for the flying structure and aimed at Kosmozis, which he bumped into and managed to un balance before resuming his flight. He landed by the sail of one of the ships, two vessels farther, and instantly gave a signal to his best friend.

''Toothless, now !''

The Night Fury knew it was their chance, mostly with Kosmozis away from his arbalet. The general was hanging at the edge of one of his structure's 'wings'. The Alpha roared and prompted his people to fight back. Most of the dragons managed to push the door of their cages which had not been closed yet, other had not even enter it, and a whole sea of fire struck the trappers. They started to flee as the dragons were back to the sky, reviving the attack from above.

Those who had been separated with their riders searched for them, the others getting back to get them from the island. The Berserkers and Wingmaiden were the first to strike. The dragon riders and their allies on the ground struck on the boat bridges, each of them fighting on the one they had landed onto. There was many trappers, but there was even more dragons, and their help from above was a real asset in this battle.

Toothless made use of the sudden chaos to get rid of the trappers around him, knocking them out with wings and tail, then he shot a powerful plasma blast directly at Kosmozis' platform. With only one shot, he destroyed the murderous arbalet. The explosion was so strong the chain linking the Deathgripper to the platform's wing snapped. The whole structure lost balance and started to keel over.

Kosmozis tried to call one of his dragons to help him, but another plasma blast hit a second wing, freeing a second Deathgripper. The two remaining were not strong enough to carry the flying base which was now vertical and slowly falling away from the battlefield. Seeing this, Hiccup knew he had to pursue them. He made use of a Deadly Nadder passing by and dropped to his back, the dragon flew him towards the fleeing base. They caught up with it, way faster than the two struggling Deathgrippers.

However, those who escorted the platform and those who had been freed attacked. The Deadly Nadder got smashed by on of them and brought farther for single fight, while Hiccup got ejected by managed to get a hold of the base. Toothless spotted him and got his back by shooting at the Deathgripper that tried to attack him.

''Thanks, bud !'' Hiccup yelled, earning a distant roar in reply.

He hold onto the wood and metal and looked down towards Lumiverse's complains and Joke's panicked voice. Both were still hanging in their traps.

''I'm coming, Joke !'' Hiccup said.

''Are you crazy ?! You're gonna get yourself killed !''

''No way I'm letting you down !''

Calmly, he started to climb down, making his way towards his family. He was still pretty far from them, but he kept on talking.

''Remember when I said I'd do everything to protect you two ?''

Joke looked up at him, astounded and touched, but he didn't have the time to reply as a snicker cut them out. Kosmozis was next to him, with Lumiverse. He had two vials filled with Deathgripper venom and didn't wait to put them into the Light Fury's muzzle. Both vikings could see her struggle for a few seconds before her eyes opened again, pupils as fine line that made her look like a zombie.

"Princess !" Joke panicked while stretching his arm out of the nest in try to reach her.

Kosmozis laughed and grabbed the arm without a warning, then he opened the two nests. Hiccup's eyes widdened as he saw the general fly away with the two prisoners.

''TOOTHLESS !'' He screamed between panick and despair.

Such a scream alerted the black dragon, who spotted the retreating frame of his mate. He forgot about his own fight and pursued them, not before he got back his rider.

Hiccup let go of the structure and dropped in the air to gain some time, Toothless caught him without a problem and left at top speed. They went away from the flying structure, now crashing into the ocean with the two Deathgrippers still tied to it. Toothless couldn't care less for them and shot to the sky, following Lumiverse that was led back to the island.

On Lumiverse' back, Joke was sitting just in front of Kosmozis, struggling like crazy and trying to reach for the muzzle. If he could just pull it off of her, she would get back to her senses, wouldn't she ? But Kosmozis had wrapped an arm around him, enabling him to move his own.

''Stop fighting, my prince.''

''Why don't you just kill me now ?!'' Joke spatted in his face, reaching the limits of his patience.

''Don't be so hurried, I just want to make sure you're really dead, this time. I'm not taking any risk, so we'll do it in a little privacy, should we ?''

He snickered while Joke deathglared at him. He was panting and his forehead was covered in sweat as he was struggling too much for the few energy he had left. That sweat didn't go unoticed by the general, neither the way the young man was trying to get his arm away from his belly. And when Kosmozis saw the plump, he frowned even more.

''What kind of abomination are you ?''

A faint whimper came out of Joke's mouth, caused by the mixture of fear, stress and tiredness. He was feeling his strength diminishing and that made him fear that, soon, he wouldn't be able to defend himself anymore.

Meanwhile, on the ship bridges, the rest of the dragon riders proved themselves quite efficiently when they were actually working as a team. Snotlout and Tuffnut were constantly throwing to the other Snot's mace since Tuffnut had been separated from his sword. The both of them were making severe damages from both sides of the ship they were on.

''Number two, coming through !'' Snotlout laughed.

Three ships away from them, Astrid and Ruffnut were busy opening the cages that had been already closed. Soldiers were gathering behind them, but Fishlegs saw them. He took a hold of a rope and swung on it, smashing all the trappers as if they were bowling. He dropped to the floor next to them, beaming.

''Hey ! It's almost like we're a team !''

''Nice one, Fishlegs !'' Astrid complimented.

He laughed as they left to free other dragons, yet he got hit by something in the back, making him fall forward. Fishmeat, hiding in his belly pocket all along, was thrown out of it and landed in front of his guardian.

Another trapper walked to them and laughed at the tiny creature.

''Ho ho, you brought a baby to a battle.'' He said while threatening Fishmeat with his sword. Yet the baby was not afraid and growled in reply. He may was tiny and young, he still was a dragon.

''Heh, I wouldn't do that if I were you.'' Fishlegs said, smiling, before looking up.

The trapper did the same, and panicked as he saw a huge dragon coming through, roaring in anger. While the trapper flee for his life, the Crismon Goregutter didn't stop. He just changed his target and bumped into the two masts of the ship, breaking them withotu any effort. Fishmeat foudn back his place in his pocket while Fishlegs daydreamed looking at the giant moose-like dragon.

''Thor, I love that dragon…''

And the Goregutter pursued his way and destroyed all the masts he could encounter.

From the bridge of the flagship, the three war-lord lamented seeing how the battle was turning. Three Razorwhip squads were cutting all the masts, the Goregutter was making even more damages, not to mention the cannonbal blasts from the Shellfire.

And it got even worst when the remaining riders game down from the island. Three of them landed on the flagship. A Hotburple, a Gardian and a Rumplehorn. Gobber, Elska and Eret faced the warlords, ready to fight.

''Sorry, we're late for the party !'' Gobber joked, brandishing the axe that served as his hand.

The war-lords unsheathed their weapons, smirking.

''You're right on time.'' Khan said.

And the party began.

Kosmozis was still making Lumiverse soar deeper and deeper in the clouds, using them as camouflage since their color was close to Lumiverse's scales. She was not even fighting him because of the drug, yet she was slower than usual due to this trance, unlike Toothless who was flying at top speed.

Hiccup was impressed by this speed, rage seemed to make Toothless faster, but it was not surprising : the dragon had always been very protective of his friends, so his family and mate… There was no way he was going to give up. They kept on flying and chasing each other, and getting closer to the island.

When Toothless aimed a plasma blast to the general, he made Lumiverse turn so she was the one to get the hit. It made her whine despite the drug. To Hiccup's surprise, her scales reacted to the heat, reflecting the clouds around her, before getting back to normal. It was her camouflage. He remembered she could hide, but not Toothless.

They did had try to make him learn this trick, but it was something only the Light Fury could do. Hiccup gringed thinking this camouflage could have been useful at this moment. Plus, he was worried about Lumiverse and Joke. Shooting at Kosmozis was helpless since he would definitively use them as shields.

''How are we gonna get him of her back without hurting her ?''

Hiccup had no idea, and it was getting difficult to think straight as he was distracted everytime he could get a glimpse of his husband. They were far, but he could still see him trash weakly, his face squinted in a painful grimace. He didn't know if Kosmozis was hurting him, but riding a dragon in his condition was clearly not a good idea.

Tuffnut was unleashing his craziness in the battle, fighting everyone he could encounter while the bridge was on fire. He was dealing with his enemies pretty well, to the extend he started to show-off.

''Behold the facial hair !'' He laughed.

Yet, his proud was cut out quickly as a well-placed slash of sword cut his 'beard' in two half, revealing his real tiny duvet. The trapper in front of him even got surprised at it, then he almost wet his pants as the young viking screamed in pure anger before chasing after him.

Meanwhile, on the flagship, Gobber was struggling against Ragnar, still he was laughing about it.

''Oh, I have missed that !''

''Me too !'' The war-lord admitted.

As the black-smith was suddenly pushed against the rail, he noticed a Hopgobbler quietly sat there. That made him smile.

''Oh, see that thing, here ?''

''Oh, cute.'' The warrior scoffed.

''That's a bad omen, you're cursed.'' Gobber smiled.

And that's when a whole bunch of these tiny froggy dragons came up from behind the rail. The black-smith didn't even tried to count them. The one on the rail squeaked and all the others threw themselves on the bridge, attacking the wood with their bare teeth, eating it all up. Seeing this, Ragnar quickly absonded in fear to get the same treatment.

Gobber laughed and cheered them up.

''Yes ! Oh, good on you !''

Then he heard a chewing sound and looked down to see the Hopgobbler 'boss' biting on his wooden peg leg.

''I guess you're not so bad, after all.''

Astrid knocked out the trapper who stood at the helm and turned it so the ship was now heading straight to his neighbor. It was the fifth one she had derouted like this, using the weapons she could find on the bridge to block the helm. The missing masts were not helping getting back to the right direction, by the way.

After jumping on the next ship, she looked at the whole battlefield, proud of their team work. There was not a single trapper ship left unharmed, all of them were prey of flames, fight or panick. Their teams could be pretty efficiency when they wanted to, and their many allies seemed to work as a single person.

Kosmozis was still leading Toothless and Hiccup where he wanted to, the pursue was going on above the highest part of the fortress-island, in snowy and misty mountains. Things were starting to get harder as the Deathgrippers finally caught up with them, and attacked.

''We've got problems !'' Hiccup yelled to his best friend.

Toothless managed to dodge the first Deathgripper, but a second one was still following them closely. So he shot at a mountain pike which exploded in rocks that crashed onto the black and red dragon. Two had fallen, but Hiccup knew how to count. Two Deathgrippers had drowned with the flying base, two had been temporarily neutralized, there were still two left.

This attack retarded them, but Toothless sped up. Hiccup was trying his best to follow Toothless' movements and not bothering him, and also tried to warn him each time he saw an upcoming attack. Yet, as they passed between two stone pillars neither viking nor dragon saw this new Deathgripper. It barely missed bumping into them and ended up right on their heels, before the fourth dragon joined them.

The pursue seemed endless. Toothless was faster, but Kosmozis knew it and used his own dragons to slow him down, making them fly above every corner of the island. None of them knew this island, the vikings onyl knew the isle where they settled and its surroundings.

Hiccup got an idea and told Toothless, then they managed to slowly push Kosmozis where they wanted, towards the village, so they could get back the advantage by knowing the place. Plasma blasts shot on obstacles near them did the job and deviated them. It was slowly working. Too slow for Hiccup's liking.

By the time they finally reached the area, the two Deathgrippers Toothless had had neutralized found them back. Looking up in the sky, the vikings that had stayed in New Berk spotted the pursue and recognized the Night Fury with his rider.

''Take him down, Hiccup !'' A viking yelled.

Cheerings came up from the town. If the wind couldn't manage to take the voices to the ears of the young chief and the Fury, they still heard a faint echo that warmed their heart.

When Toothless aimed a new shot, he got distracted and couldn't see a Deathgripper charging at him. The beast grabbed him by the back and barely missed to smash into Hiccup, who fought back and punched the beast's paws in hopes of making it let go. It wasn't working, and Toothless was slown down as he was now trying to dodge the dragon's sting.

''We need a better plan ! And quick !''

Another Deathgripper grabbed the Fury, this time by his leg, another one grabbed one his wings and the last one, his tail. Toothless could barely move anymore, almost unbalanced, and it infuriated him, even more hearing the panicked voice of his passenger.

The dragons were squeezing too hard, crushing the young viking. He tried to push with all his strength to straighten back, but the dragons were stronger than him. His body was starting to ache, making him groan in pain. He felt like he could be mash at anytime. Realizing this, Toothless frowned deeply and breathed in.

Hiccup hesitated seeing this, he didn't know what to think about it. Then a bright blue light emitted all along Toothless' back, reminding Hiccup of the one he had when he had challenged the Sentinel for the Alpha title.

The dragon started to whistle while blue lightning was starting to form around him. Hiccup couldn't believe it. It was the first he was seeing his friend doing this, and it was not finished yet. Indeed, the whistling turned into a loud road, and suddenly thunder echoed in the sky.

Hiccup tightened his hold on his friend's saddle, preparing himself to be shaken all around, then the lightning struck them. He gritted his eyes shut and got deaf by the explosion, barely hearing the Deathgrippers' cries.

The explosion had been so violent, wrapping them in a cloud of smoke, while the four Deathgrippers had been struck and ejected, leaving Toothless free to fly again at top speed. Actually, even faster, as if catapulated by the impact.

When Hiccup opened up his eyes, he had troubles clearing his thoughts. The lightning had been clearly made by Toothless – but how was the question, it looked like what a Skrill could do – but what really astounded him was the way his scales had reacted to it.

When he looked at his friend, he couldn't see him, and he couldn't see himself. The scales of the dragon, as long as the ones on the armor assorted to them, had turned invisible, like a mirror, just like the way Lumiverse's scales used to do. Hiccup couldn't help but beam : Toothless had camouflage skills, too ! Now they were really getting lucky !

Kosmozis turned back in a jolt when he heard the lighting strike, but he couldn't see anything. Joke stopped to struggle and looked back too, worried he couldn't see Hiccup and Toothless anymore. Like Kosmozis, he looked down and spotted the four Deathgrippers falling lifelessly, black smoke emitting from them. If this vision reassured the young man because Toothless was not falling with them, it made the general panic.

Yet Hicup panicked even more. If Joke was used to Lumiverse' camouflage, he wasn't. Never before did he had been that shaken up on a dragon's back, he thought he would have been ejected too, he had nearly let go of his grip and had found himself flying on an invisible dragon, only seeing a blurred shape that looked like his best friend.

Despite this strange mixture of shock and marvel, he cleared his mind and focus back on the chase. Just like Lumiverse's camouflage, Toothless' was limited and would fade in a couple seconds, they had to make use of this time. Hiccup's armor had turned invisible too, even the black paint made with Toothless' scales had reacted to the lightning, they really had everything to hide.

''Now, let's get him, bud.''


	20. Battle of the clans, part 2

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 20  
****Battle of the clans, part 2**

''Now, let's get him, bud.''

Toothless agreed and made use of his catapulting to get in front of the general who was desperately searching for them. Hiccup saw Joke suddenly push him and bent forward to get a hold of Lumiverse's muzzle. Kosmozis grabbed his arms and tried to stop him. It was their window, the general was distracted.

Toothless' camouflage faded just as the dragon placed himself face to Lumiverse, flying straight to her. Everything happened so fast…

Joke ducked by reflex, Toothless flew just above Lumiverse, Hiccup grabbed Kosmozis' collar and tore him from the Light Fury's back. He tried to drop him instantly, but the general caught his arms and pushed on Toothless' side with his feet, dragging Hiccup along with him.

The dragon keeled over and started to trash franctically, with panic and pain as Hiccup didn't have the time to hold onto something else than his ear. Both men hung with all their weight on this delicate appendage, completely unbalancing the dragon and making him unable to focus and control his own movements. He was even slapping the men with his wings, Hiccup mostly.

The young chief struggled as he could, half deaf by the loud cries of his best friend, but no matter was he did, the general was hooked to him, grabbing his free arm and epaulet. While Toothless was sipping and losing high, Hiccup spotted something from the corner of his eye. For a second, he hoped it was Joke and Lumiverse coming to their rescue, but it was not.

Both of them were free falling. Despite the distance and the fact he was shaken about by Toothless in his distress, he noticed Lumiverse's muzzle was gone. Joke had successfully took it away, but visibly it was not enough to wake her up. She was falling flabbily, with no reaction as the young man seemed to be screaming her name and shaking her in tries to wake her up.

''You'll kill both of us !'' Kosmozis yelled with panick.

Hiccup ignored him while despair wash over him. Lumiverse was showing no sign of waking up, at all, and if Hiccup had add leather wings to his friends' and allies' equipment, he couldn't with Joke since he had been captured ! The young man wasn't even wearing his dragon scale armor !

He watched at his panicking husband holding onto the unconscious dragon. He couldn't hear him shout with all Toothless' screams, but he could see that he was really trying to wake up Lumiverse. Hiccup was just as powerless than him.

''JOKE !'' He screamed with a broken heart.

He couldn't save them, he couldn't get rid of Kosmozis, and the general was heavy and blocking his movements, unabling him to sit back on Toothless' saddle and free him from the torture of the grip he had on his delicate ear.

''Are you really gonna get yourself killed for this demon ?! That's your plan ?!'' The general snarled.

Hiccup had to do something and fast. He could only see one solution to this situation, and even if he knew the consequences, he had already decided.

''No, not for a demon.'' He said, spatting on the general's face. ''For my family.''

He had hoped this spat would have catch him off guard, making him let go by surprise, but it didn't work. Then he didn't have a choice.

He looked up at his best friend, managing to meet his lime green eyes despite his distress and pain. The dragon stopped wailing for a second, looking intently at his friend. Hiccup used his head to make a sign towards Lumiverse and Joke and waited for Toothless to see them, which he knew he did by seeing in sudden panicked look.

''Save them.'' He said.

And then he let go.

* * *

I know this chapter is quite short but if I had to cut the story somewhere, it was here.

Sorry for the cliffhanger, I'll post the next chapter really soon, promise !

Love y'all !


	21. For my family

Hey guys ! New chapter !

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

End of the cliffhanger, onto the chapter !

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 21  
****For my family**

Hiccup let go of his best friend and let himself fall. Toothless looked at him with utter shock and desperation, but the viking remained calm and even smiled at him, nodding encouragingly. The dragon roared at him and quickly left towards Lumiverse and Joke.

Hiccup didn't care about his fall, nor about Kosmozis who was struggling and holding onto him. His heart had stopped beating in apprehension, he held his breath and kept his head upward, looking at the two frames above.

Toothless was flying at top speed towards Lumivers, Joke was still clinging on her and was now screaming his husband's name, and the dragon caught them. He had flown that fast he couldn't stop right away, dragging them farther until they crashed on the edge of the cliff. Hiccup saw them landing and rolling in the grass, and breathed again.

Toothless was safe. Lumiverse was saved. Joke was saved. Their daughter was saved. His family was safe.

Nothing was more important than that for him. Hiccup felt serene, filled : his family was safe. Saving these other lifes was more important than his own life. He didn't regret what he had done. He had vowed to protect his family with all his might, and he did. Hiccup felt proud, perfectly calmed, ready to accept his fate. He was ready to leave this world knowing that Joke, their daughter and their dragons were all safe.

But Kosmozis was still there, hanging onto him and fighting, he broke his plenitude bubble. One of Hiccup's wings was already torn, he couldn't use them anymore, but the general wanted to make sure the viking would perish with him. He managed to climb on him to make even more damages on his armor. He already had a deep scratch of Deathgripper's claw on his chest protection, but it was not enought for the general.

He riped off his wings, one epaulet, almost scratched his face, then slipped and hold back on his fake leg, still screaming and growning in his ears.

Hiccup couldn't get rid of him, yet his focus went back above as he heard a noise. It was a whistle, a whistle he knew all too well. Looking up, he spotted a dark mass going through the mist, aiming for him. Recognizing his best friend, and understanding he was fast enough, Hiccup hurried and bent to work on it peg leg, trying to quickly unclip it.

Kosmozis understood too what was going to happen and screamed even more, trying to hold onto his last chance of survival.

''NOOO !''

The splashes of water made by his harsh encounter with the ocean spattered on Hiccup just before he got caught by Toothless. The fierce dragon beat his wings faster to get high again, then bent his head under his belly to check on his friend.

Hiccup tried to recover from his fear and beamed seeing the cute face and sparkling green eyes of the dragon he owed and loved so much, said dragon was looking at him with such an innocent look, cooing at him.

''Thanks bud, you're always here for me.'' He breathed, sincere gratefulness and admiration pouring from in his voice.

The Fury chortled in response and got higher and higher until they reached the top of the cliff, where they had left the others. As they were getting closer to the ground, Hiccup spotted Joke rushing to them while stretching out his arms towards him, Lumiverse was laying a few steps behind him, his face was torn in anguish.

Toothless quietly deposited his passenger before landing next to him. Hiccup stood on one foot and wrapped his arms around his husband running to him.

''Hiccup !''

''Joke...''

The viking wanted nothing more than huging his beloved in his arms, but said beloved started to trash and punch him in the shoulders while sobbing loudly.

''For the love of gods, what were you thinking ?! Don't you EVER do this again, you hear me ?!''

''Hey, calm down.'' Hiccup tried to reassure him, yet he lost his balance and fell butt in the grass.

He accidently dragged Joke with him, only to find the young man wrapped around his neck, crying in the crook of his neck. He hesitated for a second, then put his arms back around him.

''It worked, didn't it ? You're safe.''

''You're such an idiot, Hiccup Haddock…''

''Yeah.'' Hiccup admitted with a faint smile. ''I'm your idiot. But I promised to protect you and the baby.''

''I don't care, don't ever do that again.''

Even if his heart felt heavy, Hiccup chuckled. He let go of Joke and cupped his face, meeting his bloodshot and overflown eyes. He gently wiped his tears with his thumbs, smiling softly.

''As you wish, mister Haddock.'' He joked before kissing him.

Joke let out a mixture between a chuckle and a sob and kissed him back, new tears rolling down his cheeks.

The other riders came back from the battle, victorious, and saw them. Allies and villagers gathered near the cliff, welcoming back their heroes and reuniting with their dragons. They started to rejoy and celebrate their victory, cheering echoed in the sky and a few helmets were thrown in the air.

Hiccup let go of his husband and looked towards the Furies. Toothless was standing next to Lumiverse, still unconscious. That made his smile disappear. Joke and him helped each other to stand up, one exausted and the other one missing a foot, they leant on each other and walked to them.

The Night Lights came at this moment from the woods and landed just behind Toothless. They wanted to circle their mother but got worried and kept their distance. Hiccup removed his leather gloves while Joke carefully sat next to her, gently stroking her head. The slight touch was enough to make her react, she started to wake up.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the two vikings she called friend and family, then her mate and her hatchlings. She cooed, appreciating the pet that was given to her. Joke chuckled and hugged her, earning a purr in exchange.

When Toothless came closer, sniffing her and whining a bit, Joke smiled and let his husband help him up, leaving space for the black dragon which cheek he stroked. The two vikings stood, leaning on each other, watching their dragons reunite while the hatchlings were swooping around them excitedly.

It didn't took long before Lumiverse got back her full energy, which made the hatchlings even more happy, squeaking and chirping around. Such a sight amused the Haddock couple, still Hiccup managed to tear his eyes off it to look at his husband.

Their eyes met, they smiled to each other, then the young chief of Berk pressed his forehead on his. They were all together now. Kosmozis was gone for good, the trappers had left. They could hope that, without Kosmozis to pay them, the Slaughterhouse would disappear with him. They ha dnothing left to fear from them.

Vikings around them rejoyed from the reunion and their victory. Some applaused and shouted in joy. Gobber nudged Tuffnut in the arm, the fake beard man had tied his hair together in try to save it and had been a bit mourning about it, but now he was feeling better. Next to them, Fishlegs burst out in cries of joy and relief.

''Oh that's wonderful !'' He said before pulling Ruffnut in a bear hug, overflowing her shoulder with his tears.

She stood still for a second, then she smiled before wrapping her arms around him.

''Okay, you win. I like sensitive guys.''

Eret and Astrid exchanged a sweet look, then the blond viking took his arms and rested her head on his shoulder, catch Snotlout's jealous glance.

Beside him, Elska saw him and talked to him with her usual calm and soft voice.

''You know, Eret may be bless with muscles but, just between us… You have the brains.''

He needed a few seconds to register what she had said, then beamed.

''Number one.'' He whispered to himself, smiling like a dumb.

Dragons too rejoyed from the victory. Those from the six different clans roared in delight, throwing sparkling fire in the sky, exploding in impressive and wonderful colors. Hiccup contemplated at the different faces in the crowd, admiring each man and woman, their bravery, their tenacity and the brotherhood and sisterhood they had showed during the battle.

Time was to celebrations, so Hiccup proclaimed a huge banquet for all their allies. It asked a bit of time to be prepared, but everyone helped out. That day, after fighting hand in hand, the six clans shared the same meal, surrounded in a warm, cosy and friendly atmosphere, filled with laughters, tales of their mighty deeds, exchanges and promises.

The Hairy Hooligans, The Berserkers, the Wingmaiden, the Defensors of the Wings, the Meathead and the Bearclaw, despite different clothes, habits and, for some of them, accents showing off really different origins they all gave the impression to be part of only one tribe, only one family the dragons part of too.

That day, the alliance got a completely new face and new meaning. Some links already existed before. The Berserkers and the Hairy Hooligans had been allied for generations. The Defensors of the Wings had as their king the brother of the Berserker's chieftess. A true friendship connected the queens from the Defensors of the Wings and the Wingmaiden. Deep respect and gratefulness linked the Bearclaw chief to the Hairy Hooligan's chief couple.

However, after this day, those links were stronger. More than allies, they had become comrades in battle, friends united in adversity. No peace treaty could equal such relationships, they didn't need to sign one up to know they could always rely on each other. During the diner, Hiccup and Scarlar talked a lot, the Bearclaw chief accepted to join the alliance and give a chance to peace with dragons.

Hiccup was very happy to hear this, it was always nice to have new allies, and mostly new friends. And he wasn't the only one to make new friends.

While Snotlout was devouring a yak leg without any ceremony, splashing his face with sauce, he stopped as he noticed a young woman was watching him from the other side of the table. Her leather clothes and the blue paints the shape of claws indicated she was a Berserker. Her skin was clear but not pale, her hair as dark as raven feathers, he found her slighty hooked nose cute, and her pale green eyes were shining with a devilish spark that reminded him a bit of Ruffnut's.

She was watching him intently, smiling, and waved her eyebrows at him. He gulped and checked behind him, making sure she was really looking at him. She smiled even brighter and rose her pint to him, as if she was cheering with him. The young viking, despite his internal panick, gathered his courage. He puffed out his chest, took his plate and pint, and stood to join her.

The party lasted longer than expected, the catchy folk ambiance accompanied them until the first rays of twilight. Vikings were not afraid to sail at night, especially with a clear sky like the one they had had all the afternoon. What vikings dreaded were the goodbyes.

A lot of bound had born during the battle, then during the banquet, and all of them had strenghten during this day. Though it was only a goodbye, they knew that, despite the distance, their friendship would last, even more now they knew the new location of the Hairy Hooligans.

Separation was tough, but also filled of promises. Like the promise to be invited to an upcoming wedding, the promise to come visit, an object kept as hostage to have an excuse to see the owner again, a kiss foretelling something more than just a serie of looks during the meal…

Hiccup squeezed Joke next to him, resting his hand on his, both of them looking at the horizon where the far away silhouettes were getting even more farther.

Everyone felt saddened by this departure, even if they knew it was not the last time they would see each other. A few tears still were shed. Hiccup, him, couldn't help but smile. He felt so proud. He was not only proud to his inventions in the village, nore only proud of his husband's achievements, he was proud of his entire clan and what they had manage to accomplish all together.

At this very moment, after learning to rely on his friends – who were not just the dragon riders – he felt light. The weight of his responsabilities his father had passed on to him as chief seemed to have been lifted up.

Moreover, now they were definitively rid of Kosmozis' threat, the future was brighter than ever, and full of promises.

Hiccup watched his husband with tenderness and love, his heart pounding in his chest. The wind was softly blowing in his snowy hair while his icy blue eyes reflected the immensity of the ocean. Sunset colors were putting the sky on fire and covering his winter appearance with soft warm colors.

Hiccup smiled seeing such beauty, then let his gaze go down on his belly. By instinct, he put a hand on it, taking his husband by surprise. Joke looked at him quizzically before meeting his forest green eyes, only filled with love.

A smile was the only answer to this look, then they kissed. Hiccup had a surprising feeling, he swore he just went back three years prior, the day they had made their wedding vows, the day when they had scelled their fate in a similar kiss, promissing themselves to a happy life together.

No doubt he was having the same feeling because it felt like they were making this promise again. He couldn't say, all he knew was that he was happy as ever.

* * *

Aww New Berk saved from all danger and the dragons staying with the vikings, what a happy endi- STOP !

Nope, that's not the end ! One more chapter coming through :D  
See you tomorrow :)


	22. New Berk

Hey guys ! Last chapter...

Disclaimers : I don't own the stories of _How To Train Your Dragon_ nor _Rise Of The Guardian_, all credits go to Cressida Crowell, William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation Studios.

Hope you enjoy !  
Love and scales !

* * *

**Chapter 22  
****New Berk**

New Berk prospered. High-colored houses with dragon sculptures were covered with a thin layer of snow. The inhabitants had the time to get used to it, somehow it reminded them of their old island.

On a beautiful morning, the streets were all empty, no viking nor dragon on sight, because all of them had gathered to the center place of the village. There, under a tall statue representing Stoick the Vast along with frescoes telling the story of viking and dragon friendship, Hiccup stood. On his shoulders, the fierce chief's cape made of brown fur. Joke used to laugh at it, saying it was making his shoulders bigger than they actually were. A short but thick beard on his chin made him look more mature, enhancing his autority as clan's chief even if everyone knew he was still that sensitive and clumbsy.

The young chief was also holding in his hands a golden ribbon while, on the stairs leading to the statue, were Astrid and Eret. Everyone had been invited to the ceremony, because everyone was happy to share special event such as weddings.

Astrid was gorgeous in her mother's wedding dress, her unbraided hair hanging on her back in golden waves, enhancing the pink flowers crown she was wearing. Eret was handsome too. He had troubles finding white clothes, explaining why his pants were actually beige, but he really had put all his heart in the searchs. He was wearing a mistletoe crown on his head.

It was the first wedding Hiccup was performing as chief, and since it was his sister-in-law's wedding, he was a bit anxious.

Gobber was in charge of holding the bouquet of flowers, and was the one to shed most tears. Vows got exchanges, husband and wife got proclaimed, and the bouquet was thrown.

Snotlout tried all his might to catch it, but it landed on his neighbor's arms, Ruffnut. She giggled, then smirked to Fishlegs, whose face turned to a peculiar shape of crimson red. Snotlout, too emotional concerning his defeat, cried too. Tuffnut instantly took his head to his hair. They had grown back, enabling him to braid them back in a false beard since the real one was still not decided to grow.

''Come. Cry to my full thick beard !''

Hiccup greeted again the newlyweds, congratulating them with all his heart, then celebrations started. They threw a big party with a banquet, vikings liked to party, anything could serve as an excuse to play music, danse, laugh and drink mead, so a wedding promised to be quite the party.

After the ceremony, Hiccup sighed in relief. All this official chieftain presence he had to demonstrate had really a way to tire him, and the best way he knew to restaure his energy was spending time with his family. Making his way in the crowd, sometimes stopped by a pat on the back and some congratulations for this beautiful ceremony, he searched for his husband and the rest of the family.

Yet, when he finally found some of them, there was only Nightfall, Daylight and Duskstorm, wrestling under the table were stood the wedding cake, while Nightsky had landed on it, threatening to take a bite of the treat. Hiccup rushed to her and pulled her away from it. The Night Light whined and struggled out of his arms. She only managed to free herself because she had got some weight and grown up a bit, then she joined her siblings under the table.

Hiccup sighed, satisfied he had saved the cake, then wondered again where were the others. When Gobber passed next to him, dancing with himself, he grabbed his arm.

''Gobber, have you seen Joke ?''

''I think I saw him leaving in a hurry, Elska was with him.''

''Elska ? Wasn't she supposed to look after Z-''

He started as they heard a sudden commotion, a loud roar that seemed stressed. Hiccup recognized Toothless and pushed the vikings out of his way to get to his best friend, followed by the four Night Lights. When he finally found the Night Fury, said dragon ran to him, calling out for him with urgency.

Hiccup got a hold of his head and tried to calm him down by stroking him.

''What is it, bud ?''

''That doesn't sound good...'' The black-smith stated.

Hiccup deadpanned him while Toothless started to nudge him with his head, as if to press him. Astrid and Eret came out of the crowd, holding hands and panting.

''What's wrong ?'' The newlywed wife asked.

''I-I don't know, Toothless seems panicked, he-''

Hiccup got cut again as the dragon suddenly pushed him to the extend he fell. The fur cape flew and got onto his face, but instead of sprawling to the ground, the viking chief got caught up by his best friend, making him slide on his back. The dragon didn't gave him time to sit up he dashed away. Hiccup could only hold on and hear his friends' voices calling out for him and try to run after them.

The journey didn't last long as Toothless took off, the sounds of his beating wings almost got Hiccup deaf while he was still wrapped on his cape. Then, suddenly, the chief got dumped to the ground, like a simple cargo, half burried in the snow, the cape taking a non-flattering angle and blinding him completely. He heard Toothless land next to him, then a high-pitch croon told him Lumiverse was there too.

Hiccup stood and pushed back his cape to its original position, then froze seeing where he had been brought. He recognized the hutt with a Gardian Dragon sculpture above the door, painted in pure white, the symbol they had gave to the healer of the village.

Combining the facts that Toothless brought him there, that Joke was missing at the party and that Lumiverse was posted near the door like a guard, Hiccup drew a conclusion but didn't like it. Suddenly worried to the extend he could throw up, he pushed the door and quickly stepped inside.

His mind was so troubled he didn't noticed a shy voice calling out for him. When he entered the healer hutt, the first thing he felt was the warmth in the room, and the deafening silence. He stared at the small room, scaning each piece of this place that had become pretty familiar. The shelves were filled of pots and baskets of medicinal herbs and other cures his husband had prepared. The small desk with a chair served to welcome his patients.

The chair was missing. It made Hiccup frown, so he went to the second room. Yet, he barely had the time to stretch out his arm to grab the handle the door was opened from the inside, he stepped back in a jolt before being smashed with it, and recognized Elska. She seemed a bit tired, yet she was… shining.

''Hiccup.'' She whispered, smiling. ''Good, Toothless could bring you here.''

''Elska, what are you doing here ? Where's Joke ?''

She hushed him while tensing her shoulders. When she spoke again, she was still whispering.

''They're fine, they're sleeping. Do you want to see them ?''

Hearing her using 'them' instead of 'him', Hiccup froze. All anguish and worry vanished, like footprints were wiped from the beach by the waves. A huge smile cracked on his lips, then he followed Elska in the second room, which was used for patients who needed to rest away from all the village's commotion.

The first thing Hiccup saw was the bed where his husband was lying in. Furs had been sprawled on him but not on his arms. Hiccup could notice his belly was a bit smaller than in the morning. The second thing he saw was a bucket filled of water and red stained tissues, at the feet of the bed. The third thing he saw was his mother-in-law walking pass him, heading to a little table on the left side of the bed, where she bent and looked like she was picking something up very waryly.

''There you go.'' She said, still whispering, before starting to move her arms in a way that seemed odd looking from behind. She was rocking something.

Hiccup couldn't move, he just stared at her, simply waiting for her to turn around. By reflex, he already stretched out his arms. He was expecting for a huge wave of hapiness to strike him, yet it struck him even harder than he thought when Elska faced him, unveiling the cocoon of covers she was holding in her arms, wrapped around a tiny little being.

She walked to Hiccup with a soft smile, rocking slowly the child she then gave to the father. When the baby was secured in his arms, Hiccup shed a tear that rolled down his cheek before getting caught in his beard. His smile grew even wider, threatening to split his face in two. By instinct, he rocked the baby too, contemplating him with sparkling eyes.

The cover around the baby was a dark green contrasting with the light skin of the youth. The skin was light, but not pale like Joke's and Elska's. Hiccup wondered seeing hair on the small head, and noticed they were very light-colored. They were a bit short to say it exactly, but they seemed white, or a very light blond. The nose was a button just like Hiccup's. Since the child had his eyes closed, he couldn't see the color, but he secretly hoped they were the same shining blue as his husband.

He looked to his mother-in-law with watery eyes, she smiled to him and put a hand on his cheek before gesturing to Joke. Hiccup didn't wait and walked slowly, making sure he was not shaking the baby too much. He then cautiously took place in the bed, sitting next to his husband, while Elska left the room to give them some privacy. The slight shake of the bed was enough to wake up Joke, he opened his eyes with difficulty but smiled once he saw his husband.

''Hi…'' He said with a tired voice.

''Hey babe, look who's here.'' Hiccup replied so softly it was almost a whisper.

He showed the child in his arms, said child let out a faint noise and started to move. Joke smiled and pushed laboriously on his arms to straighten up a bit, leaning his back on the pillow. Hiccup got a bit closer to him and waryly put the baby in his arms, looking at the two meeting. Joke placed his arms in a more experted way and rocked the baby slowly while Hiccup settled in a more comfortable way.

He put an arm around his husband's shoulders, allowing him to lean on him, and kissed his snowy hair.

''I would have rather be there for you.'' Hiccup said with a hint of guilt.

''Don't worry.'' Joke rejoined while still looking at their tiny child. ''The contractions started during the ceremony, I didn't want to ruin it, so mom helped me get here.''

''You did a great job, she's beautiful.''

''He. That's a boy.''

Hiccup lifted his head in surprise, then looked back on their newborn, who was waking up. He had grabbed Joke's finger and seemed to hold it with much strength despite his tiny chubby fingers. And when he opened his eyes, Joke's smile grew wider while Hiccup got surprised.

The baby had green eyes. They looked a lot like Hiccup's but were a bit lighter, and as bright as Joke's.

''Oh look, he has your eyes.'' The white-haired young man beamed.

Hiccup smiled, amused. He would have rather the baby to have Joke's eyes, but seeing the smile on his husband's face was priceless.

Hiccup was still supporting Joke with one arm, and put his free hand on the small head of the baby, feeling the slight warmth of his skin, just a bit warmer than Joke's skin.

His train fo thoughts and the contemplation of his son got interrupted when the door opened. Both men looked up to see Elska peeking from the doorframe. Behind her, they could see their dragons looking at them with wide eyes. Then a real sunshine stepped inside. Elska was holding her tiny hand in hers, accompagnying the little girl in each step, holding her back from getting in too fast and too loudly.

She was not quite tall, she was only two years old, but she looked a lot like her daddies. A small and thin frame, a round face reminding of Hiccup's when he was that small, the same big and round ears as him, a small and pointy nose like Joke's. Her auburn hair was a bit more ginger, almost the same color as Stoick had, yet she had a few white strands in it. Above freckles dotted cheeks and nose, she had sparkling blue eyes.

With her right hand, she was holding her grand-mother's. With the left hand, she was leaning on the back of Midnight, the Night Light was always stuck up with the girl since her birth.

Hiccup and Joke both smiled when they saw her.

''Hey Zephyr.'' Joke said before gesturing with his head to the baby in his arms. ''Wanna meet your little brother ?''

''Lil brother !'' She repeated while drooling a bit.

Elska chuckled and wiped her mouth with her sleeve, before walking her to the bed, where Hiccup picked her up. He sat her between his legs and let her look at the baby.

''Wow…'' She breathed.

Hiccup smiled and kissed her head, which made her giggle. The baby reacted to the sound and made some noise with his mouth, making slubber bubbles with a mixture between a laugh and a warble.

Elska sat at the edge of the bed and looked to the baby too. Then the Furies came in too. If the parents simply sat next to the bed, cooing and purring in congratulations for their humans for making another little them, the five Night Lights flew above them, circling and gliding.

''_This is Berk. The first dragon/ viking utopia. Any run-of-the-mill paradise boasts beaches and sunshine, we__l__l not us. We've got something __way more precious than that.''_

The baby laughed even more and moved around his short arms, visibly amused by the aerial ballet.

''Welcome to the world, Nuffink Vast Haddock.'' Hiccup smiled while stroking his very small head.

''_We have dragons, sure, but also lots of allies, people we can count on no matter the circomstances.__''_

Daylight was the first one to land, just on Joke's knees, and looked intently to the baby. Nuffink, although he had just opened his eyes, seemed eager to discover the world. Somehow, he reminded his fathers of Nightfall when he had come out of his egg.

''_We are the peace's pioneers, __and its voice, all of us are. Together, we will spread the word, open people's mind and bring a better futur__e__ for both dragons and vikings.''_

One thing for sure, the white Night Light seemed to take a liking to this little human, just like Midnight and Zephyr had fallen in love with each other. The little girl was hugging the blue-eyed Night Light in her arms, earning a soft purr in return.

''_Because we are way more than allies, or friends, we all are a family. And that's why our enemi__e__s can't defeat us, they would never tear us apart.''_

THE END

* * *

Now, this is the end.

I really hope you liked my version of _T__he Hidden World_, I know there are a lot of changes and I did all of them with reasons.

First, the biggest change : the dragons staying.  
I didn't just do it because I wanted the dragons and the vikings to find a way to live together, but because it seemed more logical as Toothless already has a mate living with them. In the movie, the Light Fury is wild and untamed, she wants to go back home to the Hidden World even after falling for Toothless. In my story, Toothless and Lumiverse have built their family together with the vikings, so it seemed logical they'd want to stay with them.

Second, the added Night Lights.  
Toothless and Lumiverse are mate and both think they are the last of their specie, so they are trying to repopulate by making a lot of babies. After visiting the Hidden World, they understand they're not the last ones so they don't have to make more babies, five is already a lot. X')

Third, Grimmel VS Kosmozis' return.  
I wanted to add more issues to this opus than a hunter threatening the last Night Fury. Since I didn't really explained in _Tales of the North_ why Kosmozis wanted so bad to kill the Storm family, it was the perfect occasion to get into his motivations. Plus, with his project to 'save' the dragons, he was a bigger threat for the clan and their way of life. That also allowed me to add a whole part about Hiccup struggling to be a chief and act as a chief with other clans.

Last, but not least, Zephyr and Nuffink.  
In _Tales of the North_ when Joke finds back his mother and she's telling him everything about Haze, she mentions that the dragon blood in their veins gives them a wintery appearance. Everyone in the bloodline had snow white hair, ice blue eyes and pale skin, and the blood hasn't fade from generation to generation.  
Well, all of this was only because of the Alpha title. Since Elska and Joke have both lost it, the dragon blood starts to fade. This is why Zephyr has only some white strands instead of full white hair, and why Nuffink has his other father's eyes.

This is the last story I write about _The Lost Boy_, thank you all for reading it and following until the end of the adventure.

Love and scales !

Stenna15, out !


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